Human Nature
by TailFear
Summary: ON HOLD Being alone was better than having a raccooneyed lunatic for a partner, right? Too bad no one asked Naruto...
1. Chapter 00: Betrayed by Home

**Disclaimer:** Naruto obviously belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not to me, and will continue to not belong to me for the duration of the story. (Like I make enough money to buy the rights to Naruto, or any anime at all. Seriously.)

**Spoilers** present, varying chapters.

Human Nature 

By: TailFear

Chapter 00: Betrayed by Home 

Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders tightly. Actually, had it been anyone but her they would have been dead for this particular offense. But that wasn't particularly important at the moment. What was more important was the drama unfolding in front of him. This whole meeting was technically about him, technically being the key word, seeing how he had no say, and it was really more about the council of elders instead.

"You can't send him there, they hate him! You can't just send him into unfriendly territory and expect him to live there peacefully," Temari yelled from beside him. She was fuming, the air nearly burning around her.

"What use is an unbeatable weapon that has been beaten?" one of the elders snapped, leaning forward in his seat to look at the siblings standing in front of the council.

"He's not just some weapon to be thrown away!" Temari shot back, her arms tightening around the shoulders of her younger brother protectively. On her other side Kankuro nodded, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Enough!" the new Kazekage thundered, glaring at everyone in the room. With a sigh he looked at the three siblings standing alone on the stone floor. "This is not a matter for debate. After the death of the previous Kazekage we've decided that this is the best way to take care of matters between us and the village of Konoha."

"Look, it isn't our fault the Orochimaru was just using us and our father," Temari snapped, looking at each and every one of them as they all looked away. "You all agreed with the alliance with the Sound village, and with sending us to that chuunin exam in the Konoha village. Just because you wanted revenge because Konoha is stronger than us. And now? Now you're sending Gaara there as part of the peace treaty! That's insane."

"That's our decision, so deal with it," another elder snapped. The rest of the council nodded, and he continued, strengthened by this support, "We're not here to debate, you're here to be informed. Gaara will be leaving tomorrow, escorted by jounin, so be ready. And if you try to leave tonight, you'll be stopped, so don't bother."

Gaara was glaring from behind the protective shield of Temari's tan arms. He could feel the anger bubbling up, but so far was only successfully making the village's elders look anywhere but at him as they shifted nervously. With the anger he could feel something akin to emptiness starting to swell up inside along with the eternal taunting that came with having a tanuki living with him inside of his body.

"Like you could stop is if we really wanted to leave," Temari snapped, releasing Gaara with one of her arms so that she could move the fan strapped to her back threateningly. " We could k-"

"Temari, we're leaving," Gaara had ducked out from under her arms and was heading towards the doors. Temari took the time to glare at the council members one last time before storming out with Kankuro at her back.

"Shit, this is all bullshit!" Temari snarled as they stalked down the streets of Suna. People who had been loitering in the streets scattered out of the way as the three angry chuunin made their way home, each one radiating killing intent. Wide, frightened eyes followed their backs as mothers shielded the eyes of their children, watching as the demon of the sands passed them by, murder written on his face.

As darkness fell that night a wind sprang up from the east, sucking the heat out of the air and leaving a rapidly cooling atmosphere behind. Sounds swirled along with the winds and sand particles, twining coolly around the squat, almost square buildings that made up the hidden village of Suna.

The red-headed Gaara was sitting on the roof of the home he shared with his two siblings, watching the town bustle in the darkening night. His insomnia ringed green eyes were alert, waiting, watching the world around him. He was at home in the night, in the darkness. No one could see him, he was free; free from the looks of fear and disdain. Awake and away from prying eyes he could prowl the streets, keeping tabs on the underworld that took place only as night fell.

He felt a presence behind him, but didn't turn. He felt, rather than saw, (although that would have been easy as well,) Temari come to stand behind him, just far enough away incase her little brother decided to lash out. When he didn't move she let out the breath that she had been holding, and draped the blanket she had brought with her over Gaara's shoulders and bare forearms.

"Hey," she said, sitting down next to her brother on the edge of the roof, her legs dangling over the edge.

He didn't reply, but his eyes flickered in her direction even as he drew the blanket tighter around his shoulders. Together they sat in silence, just watching as Sunagakure lit up with the falling night. Warm yellow lights sparkled on wide avenues, while pinks, blues, and greens were mixed among the yellows as other businesses, some only open at night, as streets narrowed and got seedier away from the broad avenues.

"It'll be alright," Temari whispered after a while. Goosebumps were starting to raise on her arms, but she didn't care. Gaara stiffened, but didn't say anything, his eyes narrowing as he continued to look ahead.

"I mean…" Temari trailed off, not really sure what to say. She felt pathetic. The village was sending her brother away, her youngest brother, and she couldn't do anything to stop it. She couldn't rage and destroy things like she wanted to, couldn't do anything to defend her brother past words, and those had failed miserably already. She hated feeling like this.

"This is so frustrating! I hate this," Temari yelled, jumping to her feet so that she could pace. "I hate not being able to do anything when they just decide to send you away because it's convenient! This is so stupid!"

"Temari," Gaara said. Temari stopped and sighed, sitting back down. She was still carefully watching the red-head, keeping and eye out for any warning signs that he showed before snapping. In the last three years Gaara had changed considerably, especially after the shock given to him after the first chuunin exams three years ago. Even three years hadn't dulled the caution she had around her younger brother, but now she could at least get close to him without getting knocked away.

"I just-" she started, but Gaara cut her off.

"I know," he said with a sigh. His head tilted upwards, observing the night skies above him, eyes flickering over the sea of twinkling stars. Green eyes locked onto brown ones and Temari shuddered, catching the rage flickering in their depths. Gaara was anything but happy with this situation.

"The council will live to regret their decision."

The finality in Gaara's tone send shivers down her spine, even as he turned his attentions to the sky once again. For a while she watched both him and the village below, until her shivers told her that it was time to retreat back into the warmth of their house. She said a quiet goodnight and left, climbing down the ladder that was perched on the top of the first story and entering through the second story balcony; leaving Gaara to his own devices for the rest of the night.

A while after Temari had disappeared into the house, as the night crowds started to clear out, Gaara took off, moving skillfully from building to building in silence. On the ground he melted into the shadows, fading from view as he took his last look around the village where he had lived since infancy. As always the gourd was strapped to his back, his constant companion, with him where ever he went.

As he walked through deserted streets, sand swirling around his feet with each step, he remembered bits and pieces of his life. A shake of his head stopped that, and left him with only himself and his inner demons.

**_"We could always give them a present before the escort us out,"_** Shukaku suggested from the back of his mind, sneering at the thought of leaving without a struggle.

Gaara sighed, both internally and externally. _No, _he thought firmly. _We aren't going on a rampage._

**_"You always were weak,"_** Shukaku snorted before letting it drop and fading further into the background. Gaara rolled his eyes and continued on his way, moving once again from building to building until he came across his home again. He settled back down to wait the rest of the night out, watching the sky and sinking into his thoughts until the rosy fingers of dawn started to streak across the horizon.

As the sun rose the jounin and special jounin came to "collect" him as he sat on the edge of his roof, waiting as the sun fell across his face, and across the sealed chains that glinted silver in the dawning light.


	2. Chapter 01: The Conditions of Peace

**Disclaimer:** See Prologue (Chapter 00), as if anything has changed since then.

**Spoilers** from various places up to Chapter 244.

**Human Nature**

By: TailFear

**Chapter 01: The Conditions of Peace**

Tsunade sighed as the early summer sun beat down from overhead. She and the other ninja that made up the group waiting for the Sand-nins to show up according to the treaty that had been written up and signed by both Tsunade herself and the new Kazekage. The agreement was that they were to meet today at noon, the Sand-nins with a few of their own lower ranked ninja, gennin or chuunin, but the Sand-nins were running late.

Behind her various shinobi lounged as they waited. A few were ANBU, but most were jounin or from influential clans that were there to see this treaty through, especially since another repeat of the war with Sound and Sand was not something they wanted. They stood in small groups, occasionally moving around to talk to someone else, but always on alert for the signal from guards posted on the wall for any sign of the group they were supposed to meet.

A low whistle caught everyone's attention and they silenced, watching as Tsunade made the hand signal that would open the gates. A thrill of tension ran through the group as they waited. It had taken over three years for this to finally happen, and tensions were running high on both sides.

Another whistle signaled that the Sand-nins were almost to the gate. Within a few moments a good sized group, made up of what looked to be 10 to 12 shinobi walked calmly into Konohagakure. Tsunade sighed and went to meet them half way. A senior of what equated to Sunagakure's ANBU melted out of the group and met Tsunade in plain view of both sides. A scroll was exchanged, and the Sand-nin waited until Tsunade had unrolled and read what it contained before speaking.

"I assure you that we have brought a shinobi as required by the treaty, but we don't have more than one at the moment, but over the next few months we will be sending more until the agreed total is met," the Sand-nin said, watching Tsunade roll up the scroll.

"We never did agree on a starting number, only a final number, am I right?" she asked, carefully regarding the man across from her.

"You are right, Hokage-sama," the Sand-nin assured her.

Tsunade sighed, then nodded, "Alright. Let's get this over with, then you're welcome to stay the night before heading back to your village."

"We thank you for your generosity," the Sand-nin said, a secretive smile stretching across his face. He handed Tsunade a key, and with a quick hand signal parted the ninja gathered behind him, and a figure slowly came into view.

Tsunade watched as a young boy, bound in what appeared to be sealed chains, appeared. A small glance over the assembled Sand shinobi revealed an assortment of small to medium injuries that looked to be caused by everything from kunai and shuriken to fists and teeth. Nothing looked too serious, but there were a few of the Sand shinobi flinching when they shifted positions. With a sigh she returned her gaze to the boy that was coming forward, a glare full of killing intent aimed on anyone or anything dumb enough to come into his field of view.

"Gaara of the Desert," someone hissed from behind her as the tension level rose even higher as murmuring started to fill the group.

"Here's our chuunin, as required by the treaty," the Sand-nin had a particularly nasty look on his face as the red-head was pushed until he stood flush with the senior Sand-nin. A smirk twisted the Sand-nin's face as he moved to stand with the rest of the escort. "We'll be taking our leave. Thanks for your hospitality."

With another hand signal the group of Sand shinobi moved out, leaving the way that they had come. Tsunade watched in silence until they were out of view, and until she couldn't feel their chakra anymore, before turning to the boy in front of her. He gazed back at her defiantly, dark-rimmed eyes making him appear even more menacing.

"Godaime-sama, ah," the ANBU member trailed off as Tsunade turned around, eyes hard.

"We're going to discuss this in private back at the Hokage Tower. Now go," she ordered. One by one each ninja left until she was finally alone with the angry teen.

"Gaara of the Desert," Tsunade murmered, scrutinizing the boy in front of her. He was taller than she remembered, with wiry muscle and his ever present gourd. He also looked harder than he remembered, more closed off, but less bloodthirsty at the same time. There was something about him that had changed. He looked up at her, eyes blazing as he met her questioning gaze.

She smiled at him mirthlessly, "How about we get those chains off?"

His eyes met her sharply, boring into them from where he was standing. He was suspicious, she could tell, and very, very angry. Inside she was fuming. If only she could get her hands on Suna's council and strangle them, but she couldn't. She couldn't understand how anyone could do this to a child, let alone make a child into a weapon on purpose.

It was easy to get the manacles off, and with a quick twist of the key they clattered to the ground in a messy pile. Absently the red-haired boy rubbed his wrists, wincing a little as he felt his chakra re-circulate through his body from where it had been bottle up in his stomach.

"Why?"

Tsunade saw something flicker through his eyes for a moment, fear, maybe apprehension. She'd seen flicker before in other faces, younger ones. A soft smile found its way onto her face as she watched the teen in front of her return to his previously angry countenance, all signs of insecurity vanishing.

"Because no one deserves to be treated that way, especially not an ally."

The flicker was back again, but only for an instant, and was gone by the time Tsunade turned towards the HokageTower. Gaara blinked as she turned her back to him, something that she'd only do unless she was insanely strong, or she trusted him to follow her.

"Follow me to the tower," Tsunade ordered before heading off, taking the rooftops to avoid the stares that were most likely to come from the villagers. Gaara watched her leave for a moment before catching and keeping up with her as they moved quickly towards the Hokage Tower.

They entered the Hokage Tower through the window in Tsunade's office. The rest of the shinobi from the gate were clustered in front of her large desk, standing over the stacks of paper piled high. Gaara appeared with a swirl of sand behind Tsunade, materializing on the windowsill as Tsunade took her seat behind he large oaken desk.

"We're here to discuss what to do about Sabaku no Gaara," Tsunade said, steepling her fingers in front of her as she leaned forward.

"We can't allow him to stay here, he'll destroy everything," Tsunade looked at the speaker, an elder from one of the more influential clans after the Hyuuga. He flinched under her gaze, but didn't lower his eyes.

"He's an ally here under treaty," She glared at some of the angrier looking elders before continuing, "So we're not kicking him out, or leaving him to find his own place. We're going to go by what was agreed with in the treaty, no matter who he is."

"Ah, so we're sticking to the original plan?" Kakashi said, his single visible eye smiling out.

"Yes," Tsunade turned to Gaara who was lounging behind her to make sure he was paying attention. One green eye flickered in her direction then resumed looking out the window. She turned back to the group assembled in front of her.

"Gaara will be place with a partner who will become his permanent teammate in all but special circumstances. This means on missions, diplomatic or otherwise, and for supervision. If he ever has to go out of this village, his partner will go with him, whether with a team, or alone. He's to be on good behavior, and will have random check-ups by appointed jounin or ANBU. And if he fights in the village, it can only be in self-defense. This will be a probation period of six months, after that the guidelines will be changed to something more flexible. Do you agree to this?" she directed the last question at Gaara, who inclined his head, but didn't look at them, even though they could hear the sand shifting ominously in the gourd at his back.

Tsunade motioned Kakashi forward. The jounin leaned forward and held a quick, whispered conversation with the Godaime before nodding and stepping back. Gaara looked at them suspiciously, turning away from his window. Tsunade motioned him to her and he stepped down from the window ledge to stand next to her.

"Kakashi here will escort you to your new home," Tsunade smiled at the stoic boy as he waited for Kakashi to lead the way before following. He looked back, nodding to the Hokage before following Kakashi out the window and onto the rooftops.

"What? Godaime-sama!"

Tsunade smiled and set about placating the remaining members of the group.

Gaara remained silent as he moved alongside Kakashi. The masked ninja looked like he was smiling at him, but it was a little hard to tell with the mask covering most of his face. They sped across town, away from the center and to some of the smaller apartments on the outskirts of the main shopping district.

"So, where are we going?"

Kakashi looked at Gaara as he asked the question, noting the carefully blank look that Gaara was wearing. The teen was keeping up easily, moving from rooftop to rooftop as if he were running on solid ground.

"We're going to your new home," Kakashi said simply. Gaara resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the answer, and kept silent. "I'm sure that you'll do fine here. Things may be a little tense at first, but it'll settle down in a few days."

Gaara frowned, but stayed silent. Like anyone would really want to have him as a partner, let alone a permanent one. Sheesh, even his own village hadn't wanted him, the people who he had lived with all of his life, but that really hadn't been too unexpected. At least his siblings had stood up for him, but that hadn't been enough. The only person that he could possibly think of that wouldn't kick him out first thing was Rock Lee, but the guy was insane, but in a different way from Gaara himself.

"Who?" Gaara didn't have to say more, Kakashi knew what he was trying to ask.

"You'll see. I can understand why you would be apprehensive about the situation, especially considering the situation that happened at the chuunin exams over three years ago. But don't worry, it'll be fine," Kakashi smiled at Gaara as the teen sighed.

They arrived on top of a small apartment building about four stories tall. Gaara raised an eyebrow at his slightly dilapidated surroundings even as Kakashi let out a small sigh and dropped down onto a top floor balcony on a more secluded side of the complex. Gaara raised an eyebrow as he dropped down onto the balcony and entered the small apartment, taking in his new and meager surroundings.

"Your new partner will be home sometime tonight after his mission," Kakashi watched as Gaara started to explore his new home, taking in the layout, the partition that separated the living room from the dining area, and the kitchen nestled into a small, almost closet-like space.

Gaara nodded as he continued to look around, watching Kakashi disappear off the balcony before really starting to look around. Whoever lived here really liked Ramen, and didn't clean too well. Nothing was disgusting, but the apartment had a feeling of abandonment that occupation hadn't quite yet gotten rid of. The bedroom was on the other side of the dining room, connected to the balcony and sporting a small bathroom that was next to the kitchen in layout. With a sigh Gaara found the couch and settled down, pulling a book out of his mission pack as he resigned himself to his fate.

Tsunade nodded to Kakashi as he re-entered her office, lounging against a wall as the debate over Gaara raged on. Most of the elders were against letting him stay in the village, despite the treaty, but a good deal of the jounin and ANBU were for letting him stay. Tsunade sighed as yet another fight between the two groups broke out.

"Enough!" she finally snapped, slamming her hands down on her desk. "This is who Suna sent to us to fulfill the first requirement of the treaty. We don't get to pick and choose who they send to us, all we can do is hope that they don't decide to dump their delinquents on us, and unless whoever they send causes massive property damage or casualties, there isn't much that we can do. Besides, when given a chance to redeem themselves Gaara and his siblings came to our aide as allies and proved themselves worthy. Gaara himself defended Rock Lee and brought him back to the village during the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke. He's staying where he is, and that's final. I don't want to hear anything else."

Tsunade glared at the assembled group before her, then sighed. With a wave of her hand the group was dismissed. Slowly they filed through the door until only Kakashi was left. The blonde slumped over and rested her chin on her arms, suddenly looking almost her age.

"We're doing what's right," Kakashi said, moving away from the wall to sit in one of the chairs in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Do you think he'll mind?" Tsunade asked, sounding tired. Kakashi watched her with concern, but didn't say anything about it.

"No, I'll think he'll be fine. Besides, he needs someone who understands," Tsunade said, looking to Kakashi for confirmation. The gray-haired man closed his one visible eye and nodded, a pensive look on his face.

"If Jiraiya were here, I'd say ask him. But he's away on that mission, and won't be back for over another month. If you ask me, both boys will be fine," Kakashi siad. Tsunade sighed again, and nodded.

"I hope you're right," she murmured. "I hope you're right.

Naruto sighed as he dodged yet another angry person in the busy streets of Konohagakure. The crowds were slowly starting to thin and the sun started to set and dinnertime approached, but there were still enough people to have to dodge the occasional person who looked like they were on a warpath. One of the advantages of being shinobi was heightened reflexes, but they only worked to a point.

He was tired after his mission, but he was the one that had to turn in the team's mission report. The class-B assassination had almost been a joke between him, Neji, and Tenten. It hadn't even taken a day including travel; despite numerous guards and sub-standard security. The idiots hadn't even known what had hit them.

The actual mission procedure had been simple with him creating a distraction, and Neji and Tenten doing the actual assassination. They'd done the initial scouting through the air vents and Neji's Byakugan. After that Naruto had used Kage Bunshin to create chaos while Neji and Tenten, with the help of Neji's eyes, had located their target and taken them out with on hit from Tenten. They'd left in a cloud of smoke, reappearing on the outskirts of the village before leaving to collect their pay.

After the trek home he was ready to go to sleep. Neji had set a grueling pace, leaving him and Tenten exhausted by the end of the trip. He was ready for a shower, Ramen, and rest, but not necessarily in that order. Once they had arrived at the Konoha gates they'd split in two directions, Neji and Tenten to train (which was insane, in his opinion) and Naruto to turn in the mission report.

The Hokage Tower was still busy when he entered, admin people running from place to place to file last minute reports. He moved in and out of the streams of human traffic, ducking under boxes of files and around people waving folders. The blond chuunin approached the mission desk, smiling at the girl behind the desk. She smiled back, accepting his mission scroll and looking it over before adding it to the growing pile of scrolls on her desk.

"Oh, Naruto-san."

Naruto turned. The girl smiled and waved him back over.

"Godaime-sama has requested your presence in her office whenever you came in. She told all of us to tell you if we caught you before one of the jounin did," the girl said.

"Thanks," Naruto said, grinning broadly and completely missing the blush that spread across the girl's face.

On his way up he tried to remember if there had been any spectacular complaints lodged against him lately, but couldn't think of anything. Actually, he'd been pretty good lately, and couldn't remember even having anyone threaten to lodge a complaint lately.

As he passed through the waiting area that led to Tsunade's office he received a few nasty looks, but that was nothing; he was used to it by now. While ignoring their looks he went to Shizune's desk in front of the doors to Tsunade's office. The dark-haired medical-nin smiled at him as stopped in a few feet in front of her desk.

"Tsunade's free right now, right between meetings. You picked a good time to come back," Shizune said, nodding to Naruto and waving him towards the doors. He smiled and nodded back, pushing open the heavy doors and entering the Hokage's office.

"Oi, Tsunade-baba," Naruto complained, plopping down into one of the chairs and waking Tsunade up from her nap.

"Naruto!" Tsunade snapped, quickly wiping her mouth and rubbing the red mark off of her cheek from where she had been napping on a stack of papers. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"About a thousand," Naruto said happily, receiving a glare. It wasn't his fault that he always caught her sleeping, and that she was old.

"Naruto," she sighed and shook her head with a smile on her face. His cheeky fox-grin smiled back at her, his eyes scrunched up happily.

"So, what did you want to see me for?" he asked curiously, leaning forward in anticipation.

"You are aware of the situation with Suna and of the treaty, right?" Tsunade asked, waiting for Naruto's nod before continuing. "Today we met with the Sand when they brought over their first chuunin. After a short conversation it was decided that you would be the best person to be this chuunin's partner."

Naruto stared at her for a moment, mouth hanging open as his mind processed the information. "WHAT??"

"Calm down, Naruto," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes as the blond boy started to work himself into a frenzy.

"WHAT DID YOU MAKE THAT DECISION FOR??" Naruto nearly screamed. Tsunade glared and flicked Naruto in the forehead, sending Naruto back into his chair. He rubbed his abused forehead and scowled, muttering to himself about evil old ladies who abused their position. Tsunade just rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you, but this was the best decision for both you and the Sand chuunin. I know that you aren't happy with it now, but don't worry, everything will work out," Tsunade reassured the teen. Naruto just sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You'll be given a week off to settle yourself back in with your partner with class-D mission pay. Come to me at the end of the week, and I'll have a mission for you and your partner to work on teamwork."

Naruto nodded and got up to leave, still angry. As he was about to leave, Tsunade's voice made him pause, "Naruto, I'm sorry about springing this on you."

He turned his blue eyes onto her and shrugged, "Nothing any of us can do about it. I'll see you next week for that mission."

Tsunade shook her head as the door closed behind him, putting her head in her arms and closing her eyes. It was at times like this that she hated her job…

Naruto had a glare on his face as he entered his small apartment through the balcony. He wasn't up to dealing with anyone, especially not some snotty Sand-nin who was supposed to be his permanent partner. The balcony doors slammed behind him as he entered his apartment, dumping his equipment on his bed before entering the rest of the small apartment.

His blue eyes widened as he rounded the partition, drawn to the couch and the red-head sitting on it. After blinking a few times to clear his eyes he looked again, and saw the same thing. Gaara of the Desert was sitting on his couch, reading a book.

"Gaara?" Naruto asked. He was confused, why would Suna send one of their best shinobi as part of the treaty? It didn't make sense, unless they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of the red-headed boy.

Gaara looked up from his book, green eyes narrowed in annoyance before widening with recognition. The two teens stared at each other in silence before Naruto found his voice again.

"So, you're my new partner from Sand?" he asked, trying to find a way to break the tense atmosphere.

"Apparently," Gaara snorted, folding the corner of the page he was on and closing his book.

"Well," Naruto paused, then grinned, "Welcome to Konoha."

**End of Chapter 01…..TBC**

Thanks to **Dark Fire-Tears of a Kitsune**,** hogo-chan**, **mistress of the sand**, **Lady-Frisselle**, **Kyuubi Pandora Chan**, and **Suna no Gaara** for their excellent reviews. I hope you didn't mind the wait.


	3. Chapter 02: Settling In

**Disclaimer:** See Chaper 00.

**Spoilers** through Chapter 244.

**Human Nature**

By: TailFear

Beta: Asteroid Blues

**Chapter 02: Settling In**

Naruto sighed as he stood over the stove, stirring a pot of Ramen noodles. Gaara of the Desert was sitting behind him at his small table, looking warily at the cup of coffee that the blond boy had placed in front of him. Neither had spoken since their first tense exchange, instead preferring silence as Naruto started dinner for the both of them. The blond boy was twitching, constantly moving in an effort to quell the anxiety that had sprung up at the appearance of the other boy. The red-haired boy just watched him, his face a stoic mask that let nothing through.

"Uh, is pork Ramen okay?" Naruto called over his shoulder, looking at the packets of spices that had come with the Ramen noodles.

"Aa," Gaara grunted.

Naruto shrugged and added the spices, stirring them in before taking the pot off of the stove. As soon the noodles and broth had been ladled into two bowls Naruto brought them to the table, sitting across from Gaara and facing three small windows. Gaara poked his noodles with chopsticks as Naruto dug in hungrily.

"What is this?" Gaara asked, looking at the noodles in front of him.

"It's Ramen," Naruto said, frowning at Gaara, "Haven't you ever had Ramen before?"

Gaara shook his head, glaring suspiciously at the noodles in front of him. Naruto shook his head. Gaara_ not knowing _whatRamen was. The blond was starting to see more of how deprived Gaara's childhood had been.

"Ramen is basically salty noodles and spice packets. Ichiraku makes great Ramen from scratch, but normally I just make it from the packets. It comes in different flavors such as miso, beef, pork, or shrimp," Naruto explained, watching understanding come over Gaara's face as the other boy considered the noodles again.

Naruto shrugged as he watched the other boy continued to glare and poke at his food, moving into the kitchen to place his already empty bowl in his small sink. After a long mission he was tired, and with a nod to Gaara, headed into the bedroom to go to sleep. The red-haired boy just blinked at him in reply, still playing with his Ramen.

Once in his room it was all that Naruto could do to lose his shirt and shoes before flopping face first down onto his small bed. A small sigh escaped him as the bed settled around his body, head nestled comfortably on his battered pillow. It took longer than he would have liked for his thoughts to finally settle down so that he could fall asleep. His mind kept trying to figure out the pros and cons of Gaara living with him as a permanent partner, as well as what Tsunade had to be thinking. Actually, he knew what Tsunade had been thinking, he just wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be flattered or offended.

As Naruto fell asleep Gaara finally started eating, even though his broth was nearly cold. Quickly he performed a small jutsu used to test for poisons, and found his food uncontaminated. Without noticing texture or flavor he ate his bowl of noodles, staring idly at Naruto's undecorated wall. This was most definitely not what he had been expecting. With a grimace he finished his soggy Ramen, making a mental note to either cook himself (which he wasn't really good at), or to get Naruto to cook something else (which was a challenge he didn't know about yet).

After placing his bowl in the sink he retired to his previous spot on the couch to finish reading his book. Thankfully it was written in a rather archaic text that made reading slower, and more difficult as well, enabling him to read the book for longer than he would usually take. Once on the couch he tucked his feet under himself, leaning back against the cushions and getting comfortable for the long night ahead.

-

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Gaara startled, looking around his new surroundings for whatever was making the awful beeping racket. A quick look around the room ruled out anything in it (he also noticed that the sun was just starting to peek through the various windows as well), and he got up, a frown on his face, to search for the source of the irritation.

Sand floated quietly ahead of him as he stalked through the kitchen and eating areas, and then into the bedroom. There he found a small black box with a digital face that blinked in time with the beeps. A glance towards Naruto showed that he was only starting to stir, muttering softly to himself as he rolled over in a vain attempt to muffle the noise.

_Beep! Beep! Be-_

Sand flowed swiftly around the offensive machine, constricting until the sounds of cracking plastic and electrical sizzling filled the small room. Naruto sighed once and rolled over, not waking up. Once he was sure that the clock wasn't going to make anymore noise he released the sand, allowing it to swirl around him as he surveyed his work. The little clock was now a ruin, a twisted husk of dented plastic and sparking innards. After looking over it once more he left to go back to his book, closing the bedroom door behind him.

-

Around noon Gaara stiffened, listening intently for the noise that had caught his attention. After a moment he heard the sound again, and instantly recognized it as the sound of the sliding glass balcony door. Ever silent he rose and crept through the apartment, releasing the chakra that held the cork on his gourd, which was leaning against the end of the couch, allowing sand to seep out and float behind him. He stopped in front of the bedroom door, pausing long enough to perform the Daisan no Me in order to spy in the room before materializing in the bedroom.

A pink-haired girl was standing over his prone (he frowned at this) partner. Her hands were on her hips as a scowl twisted her face, a look that he'd learned meant extreme agitation or anger whenever he'd seen it on Temari And after having seen what Temari did when she had a face like that, mostly to Kankuro, he decided that it was best to take care of her _now_, before she decided to go crazy and attack Naruto in some form of a feminine rage.

The girl let out a muffled yelp when she felt something gritty surround and squeeze her tightly. He smirked as he eyes widened at the sight of his golden-red sand trapping her in place and tightening whenever she struggled. While she tried to figure out her predicament he watched her, watching her eyes flit around with amusement.

He grinned as she looked up, blood draining from her face when her green eyes met his. She hadn't seen him there, and he knew that, he knew that she hadn't even felt him in the apartment, let alone Konoha. He grinned ferally, baring his teeth as her struggling increased.

"I remember you," he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. Oh yes, he remembered her, remembered her well. She had stupidly been protecting the Uchiha boy, so he's squashed her up against a tree, and used her to taunt Naruto. Mentally he winced, remembering that that had been what had allowed Naruto to beat him.

"M-me too," she stuttered. He could feel the fear rolling off her in waves, even as her struggles increased.

"What's going on?"

Gaara paused, looking over at his blond partner. Naruto had sat up in bed and was blinking at the scene in front of him, a confused expression on his face. A few random particles of sand floated in front of his face, making him cross his eyes to look at them before he sighed and looked at his new partner.

"You can let her go, Gaara," Naruto said, running a hand through his scraggly mop of hair.

Gaara rolled his eyes and released his hold on the sand that covered the pink-haired girl. It swirled in a reddish-gold mass as it pooled around his feet and legs, occasionally giving off agitated swirls. Sakura shuddered as the sand peeled itself away from her, wrapping her arms around herself and glaring at the two males.

"That maniac attacked me!" Sakura shouted at Naruto, making sure to not make eye contact with the red-haired boy.

"Why?" Naruto asked, directing the question at the other two in the room. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but he didn't want it to explode.

"She broke in," Gaara said simply, shrugging his shoulders, face impassive.

"I always come in this way!" Sakura shouted, glaring at the red head after making sure that Naruto was between her and him, despite the fact that she knew it wouldn't matter with his sand.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, what did you come over for?" Naruto asked, cringing at the look that had come into Sakura's eyes.

"You idiot, you completely missed training!" the pink-haired girl snapped, placing her hands on her hips and leaning over Naruto so that she could glare at him.

"Uhh," Naruto looked around for an escape route, looking anywhere but at the girl towering over him.

"And since no one else would come and get you I was sent to get you, and I find you sleeping! Sleeping!" still towering over Naruto she glared, making the blond boy's eyes widen at the feeling of impending doom that washed over him.

"Ah! Sakura don't hit me!" Naruto yelped and rolled off the side of the bed as she raised her fist, recognizing that move from his childhood many, many times.

Gaara snorted at him, rolling his eyes when Naruto stuck his tongue out at him then yelped when he got bopped on the head and bit his tongue. The blond boy pouted and rubbed his head, scowling at his old teammate.

"Oww, Sakura, what was that for?" he whined, rubbing his head again for show.

"Because you failed to show up," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But Sakura-chan," Naruto pouted, "It wasn't my fault."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "How was it not your fault?"

Naruto looked around the room before spotting his mangled alarm clock. He frowned, then pointed at his alarm clock. Sakura's eyes widened and they both looked at Gaara who was looking away as innocently as he could. The effect was slightly disturbing.

"It beeped," Gaara explained monotonously, meeting Naruto's eyes coldly.

The blond chuunin sighed and looked back to Sakura who was looking at Gaara as if he would attack her at any moment. With a small groan Naruto pulled himself to his feet and proceeded to straighten his bed.

"What time is it?" he asked Sakura, hands smoothing sheets and covers.

"About twelve," Sakura replied. After a moment of watching Naruto she sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to head, meet us when you're ready."

Naruto nodded and waved as she left through the balcony door, jumping onto a neighboring roof and disappearing from view. He then turned to Gaara who hadn't moved from his position near the door.

"What was that for?" he asked, pinning the other boy with a glare.

"She broke in," Gaara's stoic face shifted to a glare, sand swirling menacingly around his form.

Naruto sighed and shook his head, tossing his pillow back onto his bed before plopping down himself. Gaara just watched him, glaring as he moved to lean against the door frame.

"We need to talk about this," Naruto said, leaning to rest his arms on his knees. When Gaara just glared Naruto shook his head. "Seriously, you can't just go around smashing alarm clocks and swamping people with sand."

Gaara snarled, baring his teeth in Naruto's direction as his eyes lit up with anger. Naruto felt a wave of fear wash over him from the sheer malicious intent that radiated off of the other boy. No wonder no one had ever beaten Gaara before he had, the buy was just insane.

"Just try," Naruto pleaded. "I'll try to get people to knock instead of just coming in. Just try not to attack anyone. Believe me, assassins don't bother to come in the balcony door."

Gaara just _looked_ at him before letting his arms drop to his side, disrupting the sand that swirled around his body. Naruto took that for an "okay" before smiling up at Gaara. The red head glaring down at him before his face settled back into its normal impassive state.

"I'm going to go clean up. If you want to come to training, you're welcome to," Naruto offered as he got up and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Gaara staring after him with a slightly perplexed look on his face.

-

Neji, Tenten, and Lee looked up as Naruto appeared. He was grinning sheepishly, scratching the back of his blond head as he joined them. Lee, with his usual exuberance, jumped forward to meet him, starting a lecture about how those in the flower of their youth shouldn't waste it by being tardy. As Naruto smiled at Lee while looking for a way to escape the green clad youth, Tenten was watching him with sympathy, and Neji was rolling his white eyes at his teammate.

Eventually Lee stopped trying to "encourage" Naruto to enjoy his youth, which happened to coincide with Sakura re-joining the training session. As soon as the black-haired boy moved away Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He genuinely liked Lee, he really did, but occasionally the other boy would catch him by surprise with one of his speeches, most likely learned from Gai, and then Naruto was stuck listening to him for about half an hour, or until Lee was distracted. As soon as Lee had moved to Sakura, Gaara appeared with a minimal swirl of sand that surprised everyone but Naruto.

Instantly everyone but Naruto and Sakura were on the alert, tense and battle ready. With a small sigh Naruto held up his hands in a placating gesture, moving to stand between the two groups before a fight could break out. The first to calm was Lee, who, after his shock, calmed down and smiled happily at the red-head who gave him a glance before nodding.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down you guys," Naruto said, eyeing Neji cautiously. The Hyuuga had slid down into a defensive position, hands out and ready to attack if needed at the same time.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Tenten snapped, relaxing out of her ready state and standing next to Neji, her hand on her hips.

"He's here because of the treaty," Naruto explained.

Neji stood up slowly, muscles still tense, "And you're his partner?"

"Yep," Naruto said, smiling to try to break some of the tension.

"Gaara's here to stay?" Lee asked, his eyes wide with happiness. Both of his teammates rolled their eyes, knowing the third member of their team only too well.

"Then I shall train until I can beat him! I shall repay him for his help three years ago by beating him and never requiring his assistance again!" Lee declared, his thumb outstretched in his "nice guy" pose. Gaara nodded while Naruto sweatdropped and Sakura buried her face in her hands, looking anywhere but at the green clad boy standing next to her.

"So, are we ready to train, or what?" Naruto asked, still shaking his head at Lee minimally. Neji sighed and nodded, motioning to Tenten to follow him further into the practice field.

"Today we're going to work on defense," Neji explained as everyone gathered around a lone tree in the middle of the grounds. "Out of all of us Lee, myself, and now Gaara have the best defenses. Tenten and Sakura aren't bad, but Naruto's defenses are just horrible," Naruto pouted and stuck out his tongue, which was ignored by the long-haired boy. "Sakura, Tenten, and Naruto will work on personal and group defense while Lee and I, and Gaara if he chooses to join, will be working against you, and giving advice when we can."

The group nodded and quickly split into two groups. Sakura, Tenten, and Naruto huddled together, discussing how to effectively defend their position around the lone tree, as they warily eyed their opponents.

"We know that Lee and Neji are good enough to dismantle our defense, especially with the Byakugan and Lee's taijutsu. I'm not so sure about Gaara," Tenten said, absentmindedly tapping a kunai against the palm of her hand.

"I'll take care of Gaara when he comes," Naruto said, a serious expression on his normally cheerful face. "It's up to you guys to deal with Neji and Lee. I'll see what I can do about helping, but I don't know what's going to be thrown at us."

"I'll take Lee," Sakura said, a slow smile starting to stretch across her face.

With a sigh Tenten nodded, "I'll try to cover Neji."

Naruto looked at the two of them and grinned foxily, eyes glinting with mischief, "I have an idea…"

-

Neji and Lee came in first, aiming punches from opposite angles that send Sakura and Tenten scrambling to defend their positions until Naruto could work his way around, showing them with enough live metal to make them dodge. Neji and Lee darted away, almost literally disappearing they were so quick. The girls only had a few seconds to breathe before they were back, working together to try to get past their defense, only to be rebuffed by a few well placed weapons courtesy of Tenten.

Naruto and Sakura dropped back as Gaara came forward, his sand creeping ahead of him, swirling dangerously at knee level. Sakura nodded and moved to cover Tenten as Naruto stepped up, performing a few quick hand seals as he replicated himself with Kage Bunsin. Gaara raised an eyebrow in response and raised a hand, sending sand swirling up from the main mass to form a few bunshin of his own. The Narutos grinned as they charged, surging forward with a loud roar as Naruto himself used a quick genjutsu to confuse his presense.

Sakura and Tenten were moving furiously, working both to defend themselves and their tree. Neji and Lee were attacking well, dropping back and popping up again as they other retreated or attacked. With a nod to Sakura, Tenten propelled herself forward, aiming at a surprised Lee who dodged her kunai as the pink-haired girl appeared at her back.

Suddenly Sakura moved, spinning around to use a quick Kawarimi no Jutsu as Lee aimed a punch at her head. She had managed to snag Neji, switching their places just as Lee, then Tenten aimed blows at his head. Lee quickly pulled his punch, jumping into the air, getting out of Neji's attack range. With a quick smirk in Tenten's direction Neji spun, releasing chakra in his ultimate defense, the Kaiten. Tenten flew backwards and flipped, catching herself on the ground and returning to her defensive position next to Sakura. Both girls were panting, sweat starting to drip down their faces and backs.

Naruto dodged yet another tendril of sand as Gaara advanced, his bunshin systematically wiping out Naruto's own. The sand was making short work of his genjutsu, dispelling in as soon as it was in range of attacking Naruto. He found himself doing more dodging then attacking, keeping Gaara's sand from attaching onto him and squeezing. A small explosion as one of his bunshin exploded in a futile effort to chuck a kunai with an explosive tag attached gave him a moment to get away, leaving another clone where he had been to dodge Gaara's relentless attacks while hiding behind his shield of sand that Naruto had yet to breach.

He caught Sakura's eye and nodded, creating two more bunshin and using henge before propelling himself to the top of their tree just long enough to drop a smoke bomb into the fray, giving Tenten and Sakura the distraction that they needed to enact the last stage of their plan. He dodge away before the smoke cleared, creating a few more bunshin to keep Gaara occupied and his attention on the clones, not Naruto himself. The red-head was easily obliterating the clones' attacks, swamping them with sand and squeezing until they exploded, a bored expression on his face.

The clearing smoke found Tenten and Sakura standing next to their tree, identical smirks on their faces. Neji frowned, watching them carefully as Lee attacked first. There was something off about their movements that he couldn't place as the girls blocked and punched back, still grinning. He nodded to Lee and together he and the other boy circled around the females, watching them closely between attacks. With a nod to Lee they attacked, weapons drawn as the girls blinked in surprise…

Then slumped over as the weapons hit their marks, sinking deeply into skin and muscle, scraping bone. With horror Lee and Neji reeled back, eyes wide even as the girls stood back up, grinning lazily and popping their backs in a Naruto-like manner before exploding.

As Neji and Lee were thrown back from the explosion Naruto took his chance to duck under Gaara's guard before the sand came all of the way up. The other boy's dark rimmed eyes met his before sand pinned Naruto's fist inches away from the red-head's face. Naruto only had a second to brace himself before Gaara smirked and sent him flying with a wave of his hand. The blond chuunin managed to catch himself before he slammed head-first into the ground, landing on his feet and flipping backwards as a wave of sand swept under him.

Lee crouched down, eyes searching through the dust raised by the explosion for any signs of the two girls. Beside him Neji activated his Byakugan, white eyes peering confidently through the choking dust as the veins around his eyes bulged outwards. With one hand signal the long-haired boy pointed out their direction, and with another he outlined their final plan of attack. Even though the girls had used Naruto's exploding clones, they had still been using a good deal of energy during the fight, and had most likely used more getting away before they were caught.

Together the two boys blurred from sight, reappearing behind the two startled girls. Both raised their weapons, but it was useless as the boys already had kunai to their throats. Tenten and Sakura stilled, not moving until the weapons were moved. Together the four stood back to watch the ensuing fight between Gaara and Naruto.

"Ryuusa Bakuryu!" Gaara's hands flashed through the seals as Naruto jumped, expecting sand to come spiraling at him from below.

Naruto was hit head on and slammed to the ground by the wave of sand that Gaara had called forth. The four leaf-nins watched in shock as the sand settled, forming a solid plane of sand that stretched from Gaara to the edge of the training area. A slow smile spread across Lee's face as he recognized the attack, then pulled into a frown as he remembered what had happened after he'd seen that attack the last time.

"Oi, Gaara. You aren't going to use Sabaku Sousou, are you?" the taijutsu used asked, catching the attention of the sand-nin in front of them.

"No," came the short answer, "I'm not aiming to kill him."

"Well, that's good to know," Sakura muttered, keeping one eye on the sand in case it decided to attack.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto sputtered. He was covered in sand up to his waist, and was coated in it everywhere else. Gaara hadn't trapped him very far under the sand, only a couple feet or so, making it easy to escape.

"Desert Avalanche," Gaara replied simply.

Naruto glared at him for a moment before breaking into a smile. Gaara rolled his eyes and called the sand back, reforming the gourd on his back, something that no one had noticed missing. In his opinion, if the blond boy wanted to smile after an attack that was normally fatal, then he was just as insane as Gaara himself was.

"Well, training is over for now," Neji said, his eyes returning to normal as he deactivated his Byakugan.

Tenten and Sakura keeled over gratefully, plopping themselves down on the ground in order to catch their breath. Lee just grinned at them and moved to go stand next to Gaara, smiling happily at the menacing boy. Gaara regarded him with cool green eyes, but didn't do anything, just returned his gaze to where Naruto was trying to brush all of the sand off of his clothes and body.

"When was the last time you washed this stuff?" Naruto whined, bending over and doing his best to shake all of the grains out of his blond locks.

"Washed?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah, as in cleaned?" Naruto asked, still bent over.

"Never," Gaara replied.

"Does it stay dirty?" Lee asked, catching onto the string of conversation as Neji, Tenten, and Sakura watched from the background.

"I can make new sand from minerals in the ground," Gaara said stoically.

"It reeks," Naruto muttered, still trying to get all of the sand off of his person with minimal amounts of success. His blue eyes looked up and locked onto dark-rimmed green filled with distrust and slight menace. "But we can wash it if you don't want to use the energy to make new sand," he offered, standing up straight and popping his back.

Lee nodded in agreement, "It would definitely take less energy, and it wouldn't smell!"

Gaara looked between the two for a moment, distrust evident in his posture. Finally he nodded, and with a swirl of sand, disappeared. Naruto and Lee looked at each other and shrugged before heading in separate ways, Lee to join his teammates and Sakura for lunch, and Naruto to go track his new partner home.

-

Naruto landed on his balcony in a crouch, checking the area for anything unusual. He could see Gaara through the glass doors, standing in the doorway to the bathroom, just staring in. The blond shook his head and opened the door, closing it behind him as Gaara's eyes flickered in his direction.

Tension filled the air between them. Once again Naruto mentally cursed at everyone who had put him in this situation as he caught the hostility and distrust in the other boy's eyes. He wasn't supposed to be baby-sitting a homicidal, possessed sand-nin, he was supposed to be working on becoming a jounin and going on real missions.

But this was how things went, and he knew that. With a mental sigh he moved across the room to stand next to the other boy, (who he noticed was taller than he was, much to his chagrin) making a move to break the tension.

"Have you ever taken a shower before?"

He almost received a withering look before the other teen stopped and thought about the question. When Gaara shook his head negatively Naruto blinked at him in surprise before shrugging.

"Alright, here's how you work the shower," Naruto stepped into the bathroom and swept the shower curtain out of the way, revealing the lone knob that controlled the temperature and pressure of the water.

Gaara nodding in understanding after a simple demonstration and Naruto left, giving the other boy some privacy in the small bathroom. He hadn't been out of the bathroom for five minutes when a yelp and the hiss of sand caught his attention. The blond boy burst into the bathroom to find Gaara glaring at the showerhead, sand swirling dangerously around himself and the offending appliance.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, quickly trying to save his bathroom from an unfortunate accident. He didn't make enough money even as a chuunin to keep replacing things if Gaara decided to keep destroying them, especially things related to his apartment's plumbing.

"It burned," Gaara replied, glaring at the water that was still dripping dismally from the showerhead.

Naruto took a look at the knob that controlled the water and sighed, figuring out the problem when he twisted the knob to the left and cold water showered down on his head. He yelped and pushed the knob in, effectively shutting the water off.

"I know what happened," he muttered, grabbing a towel from the rack. The other boy watched him impassively, ignoring the growing red mark that was spreading across one of his arms. "My landlord switched the temperature controls on the water pipes leading to my apartment again," he explained, sighing with frustration as he toweled his head off.

"Switched the temperature controls?" Gaara asked, frowning at the blond boy and the shower at the same time.

"He does this about once a month until I submit a complaint. My landlord doesn't exactly like me," Naruto shrugged at the understatement, towel now wrapped around his shoulders. "If you keep the knob towards the middle you should be fine starting from there, then turning it to the right."

Naruto looked at Gaara again, and the red color that had spread across his arms. If it were anyone else he would have offered them ice, but with Gaara he wasn't really sure what to do. The blond frowned, a question forming in his mind.

"How do you normally get clean?" Naruto asked, wincing at how the question had come out. "I mean, well, I don't mean to be nosy or anything, but-"

Naruto was cut off by Gaara's reply, "The sand takes care of it."

"So you've never bathed with water?" Naruto's eyes were wide with disbelief as he looked at the other boy.

"I was given baths when I was younger, before…" Gaara trailed off, eyes narrowing, his face closing as all emotion was wiped off as his usual mask appeared with a vengeance.

"Ah," Naruto uttered, not pressing the other boy further. He'd seen that look years before in Lee's hospital room when Gaara had been trying to finish off what he had started in the preliminaries to the third part of the chuunin exams.

"Well, you kind of need to take your clothes off," Naruto muttered, blushing and averting his eyes as Gaara looked at him suspiciously. "I don't mean it in a perverted way or anything, but you need to change clothes too."

"I only have one change," Gaara said. Naruto averted his eyes as the other boy stripped off his shirt and dropped it next to the gourd on the bathroom floor.

"One change total?" the blond asked, meeting Gaara's dark-rimmed eyes steadily.

"You aren't exactly allowed to bring anything along when being kicked out of your village," the red-head's voice was icy, an edge of rage present in his voice.

"We'll go see Tsunade after our showers," Naruto said, mentally totaling his current funds and taking away what he would need for this month's rent and electricity bill. What he came up with wasn't much, but it was enough for the moment. Being promoted to chuunin had done more than just give him harder missions, it had given him a better standard of living as well, meaning that he could save as well as spend more.

Gaara nodded and Naruto left, shutting the door behind him as he heard the shower start up. The blond boy kept to the bedroom, cleaning up some of the more random things on his floor (which had acquired a few dust bunnies that he still couldn't get rid of) and either throwing or putting them away. He didn't have to wait long for his turn, within ten minutes the red-head was out and wrapped in one of Naruto's large towels. Neither looked at each other as Gaara retrieved his change of clothes from where he had left his book and mission pack in the living room before returning to the bathroom to change.

Once Naruto was done the two left, bounding from rooftop to rooftop, across alleys, and through side paths that were one of the more unique parts of Konoha's architecture. With so many ninja a good half of the population didn't use the streets, instead they used the rooftops to navigate the village from above.

Hokage Tower was a hive of activity with ninja arriving and leaving, reporting and turning in mission reports and conducting meetings. Naruto and Gaara entered through a window on the same floor as Tsunade's office, startling a poor administrative worker into throwing their whole load into the air. Naruto helped them pick it back up, apologizing as Gaara rolled his eyes, shifting his shoulders to settle his gourd more comfortably on his back before they continued on their way.

Shizune looked up as the two boys approached her desk, smiling warmly at both, "What can I do for you guys?"

"Is Tsunade available?" Naruto asked, ignoring the pointed look that the dark-haired medical-nin gave him for the lack of an honorific.

"She should be, but you might end up waking her up," Shizune said, rolling her eyes at the grin that spread across Naruto's face, instead focusing on the silent red-head standing behind the hyper boy.

"Thanks Shizune!" Naruto grinned, sneaking over to the heavy office doors and opening them silently, peeking his head through the opening before disappearing inside. The medical-nin just shook her head as she waited, still keeping an eye on the red-haired teen who was standing in the middle of the room, looking decidedly bored. His eyes flickered to her once before moving away, giving her a glimpse of the sheer menace that the boy radiated casually.

A small commotion started inside the Hokage's office, startling the red-haird boy as he whipped around to pin his eyes on the heavy doors before calming again and resuming his perusal of the room. Shizune sighed as she heard Tsunade's voice raise as Naruto laughed, then yelped as he was whacked for his teasing. She was still amazed that the blond boy had managed to work his way as far under the older blonde's armor as he had gotten.

Naruto exited the office, rubbing his head with a huge grin stretched across his face, a small slip of paper clutched tightly in his hand. He bounced up to the other boy, waving the piece of paper in front of the red-head's face until the other teen snatched it away almost quicker than the eye could see. Shizune smirked as Naruto squawked in indignation, futilely trying to snatch the piece of paper back only to be blocked by sand.

"What is this?" Gaara asked, frowning down at the paper held in his hands.

"This is how we're getting you some clothes and basic necessities," Naruto said, smiling proudly up at the taller boy. "We just have to keep the receipts."

Gaara nodded, handing the paper back to his partner and sucking the sand back into his gourd, packing it tightly down with chakra before forming a cork out of the excess sand and placing the stopper in the gourd. With Naruto in the lead the boys left the tower, heading towards the shopping district of Konoha after Naruto waved goodbye to Shizune and hopped out the window, Gaara not far behind.

"How much do you know about shopping?" Naruto asked as they moved across the rooftops of Konoha, heading towards the village's center.

"Nothing," Gaara replied.

Naruto wasn't surprised, he wasn't really into shopping himself, but after living alone for his whole life he'd learned a few things. He'd gone shopping with Sakura once, after an hour of begging just to get her to go with him (like he'd known what he needed, she obviously had, seeing how she nagged at him for just about everything), but that was about the extent of his experience.

"Me too," Naruto said, shuddering at the idea of asking Sakura for help again. "It shouldn't be too bad if we find everything quickly, but don't really know."

Gaara watched him for a moment before nodding. Together the two boys dropped into the busy street below, blending into the crowd around them seamlessly. Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet as they moved, making as little noise as possible so that he didn't draw attention to either himself of his partner. If Gaara noticed he didn't say anything, only stuck close to Naruto as they navigated the business district until they came to the start of the clothing stores.

The first store was a bust, the two of them being sent away as soon as the owner caught sight of Naruto, shooing him away without allowing a word to come out of his mouth. The next two stores were the same with Naruto and Gaara being shown out before they even had a chance. Naruto just shook his head when Gaara growled, motioning for the red head to follow him down the street to the next store each time. Finally they came to a clothing store where the owner didn't despise Naruto, and looked around, eyeing possible clothing and basic choices.

They came away with enough clothing to last Gaara for two weeks; basics, sweatshirts for colder weather, a few pairs of shorts, a couple of tee-shirts, some netted shirts, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants. Naruto did some shopping as well, grabbing a sweatshirt, a few pairs of new pants, a pair of shorts, and a few new and cheap tee-shirts to add to his small collection of clothing with his excess money.

Once they were done the two boys headed back to Naruto's small apartment. Naruto cleaned some of the excess junk out of the bottom two drawers of his four drawer dresser for Gaara to keep his clothes. The blond blushed when his stomach growled and the red head gave him an odd look, raising a nearly invisible eyebrow into the air.

"We could go out if you'd like. I really don't have more than Ramen here," Naruto offered, looking at what was left in his wallet after shopping. He had just enough to take the two of them somewhere nice, or at least better than Ichiraku a few blocks down.

Gaara watched him closely for any sign of deception, but Naruto was sincere. Both knew that there was no trust to work off of, nothing in common except for their personal demons, and fight after the first chuunin exams. There was a tension that could only be dispelled a little at a time, over a period of time. Finally the sand-nin nodded.

"I know a good bar-be-que place," Naruto said, smiling as the tension broke between them, and bounded towards the door. Gaara shook his head and followed the excitable blond back out of his apartment and down the street. They came to a stop at a small, but nice, restaurant down a few blocks from Naruto's apartment complex on the outskirts of what led to the shopping district.

Naruto and Gaara entered together, ducking under the reed mat that covered the door to be bombarded by the smells of roasted meat and smoke. Gaara's eyes widened as he lifted his head to unconsciously sniff the air, inhaling deeply. After a short pause he caught up with his blond partner, shifting anxiously and almost invisibly to anyone not watching closely.

Naruto snagged a booth near the back, taking the seat that positioned his back towards the door, giving Gaara the full view of the room to make the other boy a little more comfortable. Gaara's eyes darted around the room, taking note of any means of escape and most of the immobile people in the room before settling his gourd beside him, the leather band that stretched across his chest lifted over his head easily with both hands.

Naruto smiled as the waitress came around, ignoring Gaara's glaring. She was one of the few people who liked him and wouldn't try anything funny with his food. The brunette grinned, plopping two menus down on the table as she walked up, genuinely happy to see the blond.

"Who's your new friend?" she asked, ruffling Naruto's hair with her free hand as the chuunin tried to half-heartedly fend her off.

"Gaara of the Desert. He's here because of the treaty and my new partner," Naruto answered, finally grabbing onto the waitress's hand to get her to stop messing with his hair. She smirked at him, but didn't try again after he let go.

"He's the one who fought Uchiha in the chuunin exams a couple of years ago, before the invasion, right?" she asked, giving Gaara a good once-over as she chatted with Naruto.

"Yeah, but he's cool," Naruto grinned up at her, smiling happily as she laughed and ruffled his hair again briefly.

"Whatever you say, kiddo, whatever you say," she grinned down as he swatted her away, pouting. "Wave me over when you and your cute friend decide what you would like to eat."

Naruto waved as she left, then picked up a menu. After a moment he looked over to the other boy, noting his almost wide-eyed look as Gaara stared after the waitress. Naruto would bet that Gaara had never been complimented in his life, let alone by a complete stranger. He smiled to himself as Gaara's face dropped into it's usual unreadable mask as Gaara picked up a menu and started to look through it. The blond would also bet that Gaara didn't eat out much, either.

Dinner was quiet as the two boys ordered and ate, the lack of conversation less of a problem than Naruto had expected. Naruto's waitress friend would come by and chat with them, each time managing to make Gaara's eyes either widen or to make him shift somewhat nervously. She never touched him, never actually stood within two feet of him. Despite her teasing Gaara was still intimidating, radiating more malice than most people could gather in a lifetime.

"Naruto."

Naruto blinked and turned in his seat. Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino were headed in his direction, apparently out for dinner at Chouji's favorite restaurant as a team. Gaara also looked up, eyes narrowing at the approaching teens. The blond waved at the trio, looking back at Gaara as he sat back down.

"Do you mind if they join us?" Naruto asked. Gaara frowned, green eyes narrowing in thought before nodding. Naruto smiled and waved the team over, taking his plate and drink across the table with him as he moved to sit next to Gaara who had moved over to allow the blond room.

"What brings you here, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, sliding into the booth, followed by Ino, then Chouji. The brunette's teammates shifted nervously, looking at Shikamaru and Naruto, anywhere but at Gaara.

"I'm taking my new partner out to dinner," Naruto said, grinning as the lazy teen shook his head.

"So the rumors are true," Shikamaru muttered, leaning with one arm on the table.

"Sakura told us about training this afternoon," Ino said, flicking her blonde ponytail back over her shoulder, her brown eyes locking onto Naruto. "Good work with the Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin, by the way. Lee wouldn't stop babbling about them until Sakura shut him up."

Naruto waved the compliment off with a smile, "Nah, Gaara was better. If he'd really been trying I would have been dead meat."

Gaara's eyes flickered towards Naruto before returning to his plate. He didn't do well in crowds, and he knew that, especially when Shukaku got restless. The sand demon wasn't happy about playing along nicely when both of them wanted to rage, but Gaara held him in, clamping his will down and keeping things calm in his mind.

"So, how long is he in town?" Chouji asked, already waving the waitress over so that he could place his order.

"Chouji, I'm not paying for the meal this time," Shikamaru warned. His blond friend smiled in response and nodded, leaving Shikamaru with the feeling that he was going to end up with the bill anyway.

Naruto watched their banter with a smile that grew as Ino joined the fray, berating Chouji about the amount of food he ordered, and Shikamaru for his laziness over something that had happened earlier in the day.

"Damn, Ino, give the guy a break. Its not his fault he's so lazy," Naruto muttered, earning himself a glare from the blond.

"What? Of course its his fault!" Ino snapped, leaning forward to give Naruto a piece of her mind.

Gaara's fist hit the table, snapping all of them out of their discussion. All four of them looked at the red head in surprise. Naruto was the first to react, sliding out of the booth in order to let his partner out. Gaara's breathing was fast, coming quickly as he kept himself under control, the veins standing out on his forehead as he occasionally clenched his teeth and shut his eyes. With a quick wave of goodbye Naruto picked up the gourd, sliding it over his head after it's initial surprising weight.

They made it to Naruto's apartment without incident, avoiding anyone on the streets as night fell around them. As soon as the door shut Naruto dumped the gourd, noting how sand started to fall away at the edges as Gaara's control frayed. Deftly Naruto maneuvered Gaara onto the couch, sitting the taller boy down. Gaara didn't seem to notice, his hands clutching his head tightly as he gritted his teeth, breath coming quickly as he curled into near fatal position.

Naruto fidgeted nervously, not wanting to get too close to the other boy while he was on the verge of cracking. He couldn't remember seeing Gaara look this bad except for the time he'd started going crazy in the beginning of his fight with Sasuke after he'd killed two Sound-nin.

"Damn it," Naruto cursed, finally moving to sit next to the other boy on the couch, hands hovering over the other boy's shoulder. He didn't know what to do, truly felt helpless. It was a frustrating feeling, helplessness, and it made him want to destroy something just to let the feeling out.

The blond was lost about what to do. If it had been anyone else, well not anyone else, but anyone he was close to, he would have known what to do, whether to hug them (if it was Sakura and he didn't think that she would punch him afterwards), or to leave until they got everything under control.

Finally Gaara's breathing slowed as he got himself under control. Sweat beaded on his forehead, a few drops running down his face to drop off of his nose. The blond boy backed off, the decision made, giving the other boy some more room.

"You okay?" Naruto asked tentatively, worried.

"He's calmed for now," Gaara murmured. Naruto didn't have to ask who the "he" was. The blond nodded slowly as one green eye moved to focus on him, watching him in Gaara's unnerving way.

"Why didn't you attack me?" the question was blunt enough to cause Naruto to wince.

The blue eyed boy sighed, leaning back into the couch as he held his hands behind his head. Casually he looked over at the red head and asked, "Why would I attack you?"

"I'm the enemy, I'm dangerous," Gaara replied, turning to watch Naruto cautiously, carefully, as if the other boy would suddenly turn on him. Impulsively, instinctively he turned, looking for his sand until he spotted it by the door, looking slightly worse for wear. When he spotted it he calmed, a little bit of the tension flowing out of his shoulders.

"But you're my partner," Naruto said, looking confused, "You're like me. Why would I attack you?"

The look of surprise in Gaara's eyes made Naruto pause. It had never occurred to him to attack Gaara while he was incapacitated, but it made sense if Gaara had been the enemy. With a start Naruto realized that he had stopped thinking of Gaara as an enemy years ago, after he had beaten the lonely boy years ago in a effort to save the people important to him. He had stopped thinking of Gaara as his enemy when he found that the other boy also carried his demonic curse.

"I'm like you," Gaara murmured, closing his dark-rimmed eyes for a moment as he took this thought in. "I'm…"

"Like you," Naruto murmured with him, smiling as he did so. "Yeah, cursed forever to be alone with our demons, until we found each other."

Gaara watched the smiling blond for a moment, blinking green eyes, before shrugging and grabbing his mission pack, digging his second and last book out of it and settling down for the night. Naruto shook his head and got off of the couch, stretching as he headed to the bedroom for sleep, stopping only to make sure that Gaara would wake him up at dawn until he got a new alarm clock.

-

Gaara winced as pain shot through his head, making his temples throb. Normally he was better at keeping track of the moon's phases, but with the treaty, sealed chains, traveling, and settling in he'd lost track. It was only his third day in Konoha and the full moon had come around, catching him unprepared.

Shukaku was having a field day in his head, becoming more riotous as midnight came closer. The damn tanuki had started running around like the proverbial chicken with it's head cut off as the full moon hung in the sky, giving him what promised to be the start of one of his worst headaches yet, and the stupid fur-ball knew it

The red head grit his teeth as he staggered through the dining room, one hand against the wall for balance as well as direction. Gaara nearly hit the ground when another wave of pain shot through his head so sharply it sent shivers down his spine, bowing it until his head hit his knees with a crack. It took all of his effort to manage to stand upright again, and to move forward until he hit the doorframe to the bedroom door. The door itself proved to be no problem, but afterwards without its support he found himself falling again.

The carpet under his hands felt coarse. It took him a moment to realize that he'd fallen forward, barely catching himself before his head hit the ground. He needed to leave before it got worse, before he lost control and set himself upon the first person he found.

Slowly he exhaled, concentrating on pushing Shukaku further into his mind before standing again. Sometime between him toppling over and getting back up Naruto had appeared back home from his meeting with Tsunade, a worried expression on his face.

"Gaara?"

"Go away!" Gaara grit out. He could sand swirling around his form in agitation, free of it's normal confines in gourd shape.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto moved forward, hands out in a placating gesture that would also work for defense should Gaara choose to lash out.

"Get away from me!"

Gaara's eyes were wide, bloodshot, the veins in his forehead and forearms standing out. His breath was ragged as he leaned against the wall. It hadn't been this hard to control in years, since the chuunin exams, since his defeat. His own mental conflict had made the stupid tanuki sit in the background and taunt instead of actively try to get out as he was doing now. Gaara starting to get comfortable and being accepted wasn't as amusing as a confused and angry Gaara, leaving Shukaku wanting to wreak havoc just to spite his container.

"Gaara?"

"Leave!"

Gaara's eyes spotted the open balcony door over Naruto's shoulder and bolted, only to be stopped as Naruto slammed his shoulder into the taller boy, ramming Gaara into the wall with his momentum. The red head fought back, using sand and leverage to push the smaller boy off of him, then making another dash for the open door. Once again he was slammed into the wall, this time hard enough to make the world tilt for a moment.

Naruto growled as Gaara made another dash, slamming him into the wall again, this time keeping a hold on the other boy's upper arms, pinning him. Each time Gaara tried to bolt Naruto slammed him against the wall until the other boy's struggles lessened, leaving a good sized dent in his bedroom wall.

As Naruto let go Gaara staggered forward, only for Naruto to catch him before he fell. Carefully the blond led his partner back through the apartment, settling Gaara on the couch as he sat next to him, pushing until Gaara was lying down, his head almost on Naruto's leg.

Naruto watched Gaara's breathing even out, the other boy's chest rising and falling evenly even as his face crinkled with occasional flashes of pain. Tentatively Naruto moved his hand to hover over Gaara's forehead, face focused on the other boy. If it had been anyone else…but it wasn't. It was Gaara of the Desert, one of the most feared ninja in their area. But he was also lonely. How many people had reached out to him with simple comfort? Naruto knew that answer, none.

Slowly Naruto slid his fingers into Gaara's hair. It was soft, softer than he had expected and finer than his own thick strands. Almost instinctively he ran his fingers through the red strands, occasionally brushing Gaara's skin underneath, as he would have liked to have done to him as a child. The motions calmed him, a lazy smile spreading across his face as he watched Gaara's face calm into almost a serene expression.

The red head cracked one green eye open, looking up into Naruto's concerned face, "Why?"

"I can't let you go get yourself kicked out of the village, now can I?" Naruto asked, a foxy smile on his face as Gaara blinked before his guarded expression fell back into place.

Gaara snorted, rolling to sit upwards, dislodging Naruto's fingers from his hair reluctantly. He leaned forward, elbows propped up on his knees, hands hanging limply in front of him.

"Ahou," he muttered, but Naruto just smiled.

"You're welcome."

**End of Chapter 02…TBC**

Ryuusa Bakuryu- Desert Avalanche.  
Sabaku Sousou- Desert Graveyard.  
Ahou- retard.

Thanks to **rembrandt, Deora ar mo chroi, sujung, hogo-chan, Lady-Frisselle,** and** eyes0nme19** for their awesome review. (and Lady-F; Sasuke will appear later on)

Thanks to **Asteroid Blues** for being my beta! Je t'aime!


	4. Chapter 03: Adaptation

**Disclaimer:** Refer to Chapter 00, you know, the first one you see…

**Spoilers** through chapter 244.

**Human Nature**  
By: TailFear  
Beta: Asteroid Blues

**Chapter 03: Adaptation**

"Where are we going?"

The two chuunin were hopping across the rooftops of Konoha, following paths high above the ground, a secret path of sorts. After 16 years the village had finally expanded all the way to the village's walls, then started building up. Rooftops were overlapped, sometimes build in a haphazard fashion that made them look like they were going to fall at any second. Trees were incorporated into construction, acting as main support beams and sometimes parts of walls. With new construction due to ninja related damages (hence the insurance that all buildings now came with; ninja or ninja related accidents), the rooftops were prone to change.

"We're going to see Tsunade-baba. She said something about coming to see her after our initial "settling in" week was over," Naruto said, shrugging. "She said something about a mission to work on teamwork."

"Aa."

Tsunade's office was, as usual, busy, even early in the morning. Dark-haired Shizune nodded to them as they entered the reception area, motioning for them to wait until Tsunade was free. Naruto shrugged and sat in one of the chairs that lined the wall, Gaara choosing instead to lean against the wall next to Naruto, gourd at his back. They didn't have to wait long, one of the ANBU standing guard outside of Tsunade's office nodding to Shizune, who sent them in.

"Gaara, Naruto, please sit down," Tsunade motioned for the two chuunin to sit down, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her desk. Naruto and Gaara sat, both keeping an eye on the elderly woman sitting in a third chair, a purring cat in her lap.

"Your mission is a class-C escort," Tsunade glared when Naruto groaned and rolled his eyes, shutting the blond up. "You two will be escorting Aoishi-san to Cloud Country as simple bodyguards; protecting her from bandits and other dangers that are found on the road."

Tsunade looked over the two boys in front of her, one impassive, one rolling his eyes. She knew that a class-C mission for two shinobi of chuunin level was demeaning unless done solo, especially considering the skill level of both Naruto and Gaara.

"This is also a mission to start building teamwork," Tsunade explained, catching the eye of both boys. Naruto settled, listening as she continued on, "I know that both of you are probably angry about your situations, and its not the fault of either of you. But we need to have you working well together, as well as you can, for both you and your two villages."

Naruto opened his mouth to question her, but was cut off as Tsunade continued, "The two of you are special, unique in ways no one else but you two can understand. Because of this, only the two of you can figure out each other best and then improve upon your skills as an individual and a team. You have my complete trust in the both of you."

Naruto closed his mouth, blue eyes blinking into Tsunade's as he watched her in silence. Gaara was also watching her intently, dark-rimmed eyes guarded. A few time the boys' eyes would flicker uncertainly to look at each other, their minds turning as they processed what Tsunade had said.

"Now," Tsunade continued, breaking through their thoughts, "I need to introduce Aoishi-san to the two of you before you leave to pack for you mission that starts in little over an hour."

The elderly lady got up from her chair, turning so that she could see both of the boys that were going to be her bodyguards. She was short, with graying hair in a bun at the nape of her neck and dark brown eyes. The sneer on her face told the two boys exactly what she thought of them. Carefully she placed her feline on the floor before she leaned against Tsunade's desk.

"The red head looks competent, but the blond, well," here she paused, smiling down at Naruto who was already watching her suspiciously, "the blond looks like a spaz."

"Hey!" Naruto protested, crossing his arms over his chest. "I am not a spaz!"

Tsunade sighed as the calm in her office disintegrated into a war zone as Naruto gave the elderly lady as good as he got while she and Gaara watched from the sidelines. The blond only managed to stay in his seat with the aide of Gaara's sand holding him against the chair as the woman casually leaning against the desk as she examined her nails during the banter with her soon to be bodyguard.

"You do realize that we only have 45 minutes to pack and get to the gates, and that includes saying good-byes, don't you?"

Naruto looked over at Gaara, quitting the argument with the woman in favor of giving his partner a wide-eyed look. The red head gave him a flat look in return before calling his sand to retreat, freeing the blond chuunin from his restraint.

"Sorry, Lady, but I've gotta bail. See you in half and hour," Naruto waved as he sauntered out the office doors. The remaining three watched him go, all either rolling their eyes or suppressing the urge.

Gaara nodded to the two women before leaving, disappearing in a swirl of sand as he left. Tsunade sighed and shook her head as Aoishi took her seat, leaning back with satisfaction.

"That little runt sure has grown up," Aoishi commented, smiling to herself.

"You knew him when he was younger?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow in the other woman's direction.

Aoishi snorted, "Sure, he and his gennin team, along with their slacker of a jounin instructor, escorted me to Cloud Country before." She snorted and shook her head, smiling to herself as she remembered.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked, steepling her hands in front of her as she leaned forward.

"The whole way there he argued with his dark-haired teammate, while at the same time getting beaten up by that little pink-haired girl for insulting her crush. My cat, Hoshi, also kept running away, and he would always lose whatever challenge they thought up and would come back covered in scratches, but with Hoshi purring in his arms," Aoishi smiled, eyes crinkling. "It was an amusing trip. What happened to the other two from his team?"

Tsunade's smile dropped as she heard Aoishi's question, a few lines appearing on her face. Aoishi's smile also dropped, and feeling that she'd hit a sensitive subject, started to raise a hand to wave the question away, but Tsunade answered before she could.

"His dark-haired partner ended up leaving, abandoning the village and their team, and is now labeled a missing-nin," Tsunade nodded as Aoishi shook her head . "The girl is a student under me, studying to be a medical-nin while continuing to train with another team, as well as Naruto and now his new partner."

"I always knew that girl had spunk," Aoishi smiled, breaking the tension in the room.

"She manages to cow most of the boys her age," Tsunade smiled back, leaning back in her chair comfortably. "She's doing much better than I expected, all of them are."

-

Naruto rummaged through his drawers, tossing the occasional piece of clothing onto his bed that was already cluttered with scrolls and various pieces of weaponry. He also had a pair of combat boots that were going to replace his normal ninja boots for the purpose of blending in once they reached Cloud Country. Gaara had appeared a little while after his pile started to grow, just watching quietly as the blond figured out what he wanted before disappearing into the rest of the apartment.

"What about this?"

Naruto looked up to see Gaara holding a large oiled canvas umbrella that he had gotten in Wave Country year ago, then stashed in the small closet situated at the end of his dining room. Naruto shrugged, not really sure why Gaara would want to take an umbrella, but didn't see why not too.

"Bring it along if you'd like. I think I have another in there as well."

Gaara nodded and disappeared again, taking the umbrella with him as he moved into the rest of the apartment. Naruto shrugged again and continued to pack, folding his changes of clothes and bandages before shoving them into his mission pack, stowing weapons, and scrolls in various holsters. Quickly he disappeared into the bathroom, changing into a pair of loose black pants, a short sleeved fishnet shirt, and a blue shirt over it.

He met Gaara in the bedroom, the other boy dressed similarly to him with a green shirt instead of blue, without a vest to show their rank, and only their hitai to show that they were ninja at all. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the umbrellas as he and Gaara pulled on their boots and strapped on scrolls and weapons. As Naruto threaded his belt through his mission pack Gaara tossed him one of the umbrellas, keeping the other for himself as he shifted until his gourd and leather strap were situated comfortably across his chest and back. Naruto blinked, then shrugged and found some extra rope to tie a strap with so that he could keep it on his back.

Before they left Naruto went into the kitchen and stocked up on non-perishable foods and a small pot. Water purifying tablets from his small stock also went into the pack, as well as a few plates, a skewer, and Ramen. Gaara looked through the bag and nodded, adding the last of Naruto's fruits to it as well.

Together they set out, Naruto locking the balcony door behind them, then shrugging at Gaara's questioning look (it was kind of hard to tell if the look was questioning or condescending, so Naruto chose to believe it was questioning) before jumping off the balcony and onto the next roof. It didn't take very long for the two boys to arrive at the training area where the others were in the middle of their morning session.

"Where are you two going?" Sakura asked, stopping her training in order to go over to Naruto and Gaara.

"We've got a mission, so I figured we'd drop by to say good-bye," Naruto said with a shrug, ducking when Sakura tried to hit him for sticking his tongue out at her.

"Be safe," Lee said, standing next to Gaara. During the week Lee had started hanging around Gaara when Naruto wasn't there, showing the other boy around Konoha and keeping him company as Gaara settled in.

"Have you told anyone else?" Sakura asked, keeping an eye on Neji and Tenten as they practiced simple hand to hand contact.

"No, we don't have the time. Can you tell everyone else?" Naruto asked, smiling when Sakura sighed and nodded.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Sakura asked, looking up at the blond boy.

"It should only be a week," Naruto answered after frowning in thought. He looked over to Gaara who nodded. Sakura smiled at the two boys and hugged Naruto before letting the blushing boy leave.

The two chuunin arrived minutes before Aoishi did, giving them time to double check their packs and weapons before she showed up. She appeared from down a side street, a pack on her back and her cat in her arms. The two boys watched her as she approached, staying quiet until she stopped in front of them, looking them over.

"You still don't look like much," she said, looking Naruto over again. He rolled his eyes, but managed to keep his mouth shut, instead trying to figure out why he recognized her.

"Well, lets get going, I want to be there within the next week," Aoishi said before turning to lead the two boys out the gates and into the surrounding woods.

As soon as they were on the road Naruto and Gaara spread out, Naruto taking point while Gaara covered the rear, his sand giving them a better defense from behind. It was a nice day, sunny and warm, creating a peaceful atmosphere for their journey. Both ninja were wary, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. They stopped once in the early afternoon for lunch, then continued on, mostly silent. Occasionally Aoishi would insult Naruto which would start a small fight, but eventually they'd all fizzle out, leaving the group in silence once again.

They stopped for the night in a small clearing that was a few meters off of a small side road that they'd taken when it started to get dark. A small fire had been built in the center of the clearing where Naruto prepared dinner. Aoishi had unrolled her bedroll close to the fire, preparing to sleep after dinner was eaten, leaving the boys to figure out their own sleeping arrangements.

Gaara chose a place under the largest tree while dinner was cooking, watching Naruto and their surroundings as Naruto unrolled his bedroll under a tree close to Gaara's and also close to the fire. Dinner was a quiet affair as the three of them ate in silence, dishes wiped off with a cloth wet from Naruto's canteen before being put away again. Aoishi waved to them before rolling over and falling asleep, leaving the boys to determine the watch schedule.

"I can take first watch," Naruto offered as he finished packing the dishes away.

Gaara blinked at the blond's offer, "Why?"

Naruto shrugged, looking off into the distance over the fire, "Even if you don't sleep you could still probably use a break."

Gaara watched the other boy for a while before nodding and settling against the tree behind him, resting his gourd against the tree beside him. When Gaara's eyes were closed Naruto left his bedroll and jumped into the tree above him, settling on a broad limb and leaning against the trunk of the tree as he got comfortable. From his perch he could see over the whole clearing and into the surrounding woods.

Around the middle of the night Naruto jumped down from the tree, landing silently on the ground. He made his way over to Gaara and crouched in front of the other boy, just watching him for a moment. Gaara's face had lost its normally harsh lines and was calm, undefended. It felt weird to Naruto to see the other boy like that. Carefully he reached out and shook Gaara's shoulder, pulling his hand back quickly as the other boy's eyes snapped open.

Gaara nodded and sat up straight, stretching for a moment before pulling the leather strap over his head and settling his gourd on his back. The blond boy wrapped his bedroll around him, pillowing his head on his arms as he laid on his stomach.

"Hey, Gaara?" Naruto's voice stopped Gaara from jumping into the tree above for his watch. Gaara turned to look over at Naruto, who had turned onto his side so that he could look at Gaara.

"What?"

"What were you doing, since you weren't sleeping?"

Gaara watched the other boy for a moment, eyes guarded as he considered the question. "Chakra control."

"Chakra control?" Naruto asked, watching the other boy's face.

"Yes, chakra control," Gaara said before disappearing into the branches above. Naruto sighed and pulled his bedroll tighter around him, trapping the warmth in as he fell asleep.

The next morning they headed out early. Naruto moved mechanically, eyes half closed as he packed up from the night before, ignoring the taunts of Aoishi-san. Gaara watched him out of the corners of his eyes as the blond moved lazily. Aoishi-san did the same thing, trading a few wary looks with Gaara over the blond's head.

They set off slowly, eating breakfast as they walked, the two boys falling into position in front and behind of Aoishi-san. The morning sun cleared off most of the mists that had been crawling around, trapped under the trees. Except for the occasional taunt the group was silent, only the sound of Aoishi-san's footsteps on the road.

Gaara suddenly stopped, a hissed signal to Naruto stopping the other boy as well. Aoishi-san took the hint and they all stood, not moving a muscle as they listened to the quiet woods around them. Naruto blinked, then turned and nodded to Gaara. The red head smirked viscously and melted into the trees, leaving Naruto to take care of anyone that attacked Aoishi-san headlong.

A gray-clad bandit appeared before them, head covered in a bright bandana. Naruto watched him impassively as Aoishi-san moved to go stand behind him, effectively shielding herself from view. The blond fingered the ringed handles on his kunai, the threat obvious to his foe.

The bandit grinned lazily, twirling a spiked ball on a chain in his hands as two more bandits appeared behind him. Their gray costuming blended well with the dispersing mists, allowing them to fade in and out of nature almost at will. Only the lead bandit had his face uncovered, the other two wearing some sort of mask or covering. All three had weapons out, tensed and ready to fight.

"We can't let you guys get by here unscathed," the leading bandit said, shrugging his shoulders.

"It would be best if you leave before you get hurt," Naruto said, still fingering the handles of his kunai.

"Too bad. You're walking our road, and giving us nothing," the bandit replied with a smile. "We just can't let that go, now can we?"

Naruto shrugged and threw his kunai, dodging the spiked ball that was thrown in his direction, forming the hand seals for Kage Bunshin that gave him an extra body to help him. The clone protected Aoishi-san while Naruto took on the task of taking out the bandits in front of him, trusting in Gaara to take care of any others that he couldn't see.

Another kunai found its mark in one of the masked bandit's thigh, toppling him over just long enough for Naruto to send a kunai flying, squarely hitting the bandit in the throat. The other two scattered, sending a few volleys of knives and a ball and chain attack in Naruto's direction, causing him to dodge and use a less flashy version of Neji's Kaiten to knock the weapons out of the way.

The slithering sound alerted him only a second before he jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the sand that came bursting forth from the ground behind and below him. An added flip gave him the momentum to land in front of the clone protecting Aoishi-san. Gaara appeared beside them, umbrella opened and hanging over his shoulder lazily. Naruto noted the splatter, but didn't say anything, calmly pulling his umbrella over his shoulder and opening it. Gaara nodded in his direction and stepped forward, grinning maniacally as the bandits found themselves trapped in sand up to their knees.

There was a glint in Gaara's eyes that made him keep his clone active, instead of dissipating it like he would have otherwise. Aoishi-san watched them impassively, standing up from where Naruto's clone had knocked her into the dust in order to protect her, still keeping behind both Narutos. As Gaara stepped forward Naruto angled his umbrella up and forward to deflect anything that came from above or ahead, motioning for Aoishi-san to come further under the umbrella.

Gaara's grin spread across his face, doing more than just flashing teeth at the unfortunate bandits that were trapped in front of him. Naruto winced as he heard sand swirl higher up on the bandits' bodies, drawing panicked cries and squawks from the unfortunates.

"Sabaku Sousou no Jutsu."

Aoishi-san's eyes widened at the sound of rushing sand and bones breaking, and a sick, wet sound and the following sounds of splattered matter hitting the stretched canvas. Naruto waited until only silence was heard before lowering the umbrella, instructing his clone to cover Aoishi-san's eyes from the carnage.

Gaara was standing in a clean circle, completely surrounded by dark red, umbrella still open above his head. Sand was starting to return to him, swirling in lazy red-gold circles as his gourd was reformed with the leather strap. His eyes were still a little wide, and his breathing a little strained, but he looked calm and composed, or as calm and composed as Gaara could look.

Gaara led the way away from the scene of the battle, both Narutos following him, the clone still covering Aoishi-san's eyes. The next few minutes were silent, both boys watching warily for any attacks that they had missed. Aoishi-san was uncharacteristically quiet, her usual taunts directed towards Naruto absent with the rise in tension.

Once they were far enough away Naruto dissipated his clone, freeing Aoishi-san. Gaara watched them impassively as Naruto checked himself and Aoishi-san for wounds, leaving Gaara to deal with himself. Naruto had picked up a few cuts and scrapes, but nothing deep enough to need bandaging. Gaara, as usual, was unscathed, and was using his sand to clean off the worst on both of the umbrellas. Aoishi-san was unharmed and getting over her shock with an ease that had to have come from experience, some color returning to her cheeks as she started to relax once again.

"Well, that was certainly eventful," Aoishi-san said, blinking at the two boys who shrugged. Gaara finished cleaning the umbrellas and shook them out, handing Naruto's back to him.

"So how many more bandits are we to expect on this trip?" Naruto asked, starting out in point position as he usually did, Gaara falling behind.

"Not too many more. You've probably just taken out the main bunch. I recognized the unmasked one from the journey here," Aoishi-san said, as if it weren't a big deal.

"They were worthless," Gaara said, a hint of a snarl in his voice. Naruto glanced back, but didn't voice his concern..

"They've taken out most of the caravans that I've talked to," Aoishi-san said sternly. Gaara snorted, and caught Naruto's rolled eyes, but didn't comment.

It took two more days after the bandit incident to get to Cloud Country, then another to find the city that was Aoishi-san's destination. They had only been attacked once afterwards, and Gaara had taken care of them as efficiently as he always did. There had also been a delay when Aoishi-san's cat had decided to escape, leading Naruto on a merry adventure through the surrounding woods while Gaara stood guard.

The city in Cloud Country was almost big enough to rival Konoha. Naruto watched their surroundings with the wide eyes of one who had never really been to a big city before. Once in the city Naruto and Gaara switched positions. Gaara had more experience with bigger cities, and led them to the hotel that Aoishi-san had specified.

"You two can stay the night in the adjoining room, if you wish. As of now your mission is over," Aoishi-san said after she had checked in. The two boys looked at each other and nodded, dropping most of their excess mission supplies before rejoining her in the main room.

"We're going to explore," Naruto said, nearly hopping with excitement.

"Don't get lost," Aoishi-san said as they left, waving them off from her perch on her bed.

Gaara led the way as they entered the bustling crowds that filled the streets of the city. More than once he had to reach back and grab the blond's hand when Naruto started to wander off, his feet following something his eyes had seen. Naruto was like a little kid in a candy store, trying to look at everything at once while deciding what to buy. The blond was almost at a loss as people rushed around him and vendors tried to sell their goods.

"You look stupid."

Naruto turned to look at Gaara, his eyes still trying to take in everything at once. The red head was giving him an impatient look that would have most likely scared anyone other than Naruto himself.

"I've never been to a city this big before," Naruto said.

Gaara snorted and rolled his eyes, and set out again, heading for a nearby Ramen stand. Naruto blinked when he saw his partner leaving, then hurried to catch up, yelling for Gaara to wait. They sat on two stools and ordered, Naruto ordering enough Ramen to feed two people while Gaara ordered one bowl.

They ate in relative silence. Gaara was keeping an eye on their surroundings and Naruto as he ate. People were giving both him and Naruto wary looks as they walked as far around the duo as they could. Gaara noticed, but Naruto didn't. The blond boy was off in his own world, watching the people that passed by. Gaara noticed that the blond boy's gaze lingered the most on families, couples, pets, and children, a look akin to longing passing over his face from time to time.

"Hey, Gaara?"Naruto's voice had a plaintive air to it.

Gaara looked over at the other boy, giving him his attention, still slightly miffed that the blond had stopped flinching when meeting his eyes. Naruto looked almost like a lost child, with wide eyes and an almost pleading look.

"What's it like to have siblings?"

The question caught the red head by surprise, making him blink. He thought about it for a moment, trying to decide what to tell his blond partner.

"When I was young they were kept away from me, because I wasn't trusted to be safe," Gaara murmured, growling softly. Naruto kept silent, turning his gaze into his noodles. "Then, after Yashamaru, I was given the same teacher as my siblings. Baki trained me with them as a team, but also trained them to fear me. After a while Temari stopped listening to Baki and tried to befriend me, and also convinced Kankuro, but by that time I was too far gone. Then the chuunin exams happened, and I guess I opened up again. Temari was still afraid of me, but she kept trying. They're there for me when I need it."

Gaara lapsed back into his normal silence, eyes narrowing, and his sand shifting against his back in agitation. Naruto kept looking down, a slightly pained expression on his face that was wiped away when he felt Gaara's eyes on him.

Naruto smiled widely at his partner, eyes scrunched a little, "I'm glad that they're there for you and aren't terrified."

Naruto's smile stayed on his face as they paid and left. Gaara kept an eye on his partner as the blond bounced around from stall to stall as they moved through the city's center, doing some shopping and charming most of the girls that he came across. Naruto hadn't gotten halfway down the street before he had at least three girls following him and talking with him, basking in the energy that the blond gave off in abundance. Gaara was content to either keep ahead or trail behind for a while as his partner chattered away, eliciting some squeals of surprise and laughter from the girls following him.

But under his smile Naruto was still alone, and Gaara could see it in the blond's face. With a smile Naruto waved the girls off and rejoined his partner, ignoring the way people parted around and in front of the red head with averted eyes and nervous faces. Naruto turned his chatterings onto his partner, translating the occasional grunt he got in reply.

It was night by the time they got back to the hotel. Neither boy was particularly tired, but Naruto was still looking a little overwhelmed. Occasionally the blond had stood still while Gaara had browsed some of the weapons stalls, critiquing some of the more unusual weapons that he found with a practiced eye, despite the fact that his sand could create almost any weapon he wanted with the help of a little chakra. Naruto's face would lose its smile as he spied upon families and couples with longing open on his face. After a few moments he would realize what he was doing and would shake his head, bringing his smile back onto his face when Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow in his direction.

"I'll secure the room," Naruto said as they entered. Gaara watched as Naruto checked the windows and doors and set traps. Gaara nudged some of the sand out of his gourd and sent it to the corners of the room, setting up a secondary security system in the room.

Naruto left one window almost unguarded, trusting Gaara to dodge the noise-trap as he came and went. With a wave Naruto went to sleep, plopping down face-first in the single bed as Gaara took off out the window. Cloud Country had cool nights, raising goosebumps on Gaara's arms as he prowled.

The city was different from Sunagakure and Konohagakure. As soon as the sun started to go down the lights started to dim and people went home, happily chattering as the masses thinned. The red head watched from above as the streets slowly cleared, even the bars shutting down earlier than anywhere else he had been. For a while he just sat on the highest roof he could find, watching the streets below until restlessness overtook him. He moved through the town, just watching as people settled down and fell asleep. It was something that he didn't normally see in Suna, and something that he hadn't had time to check out in Konoha yet.

Eventually Gaara returned to their apartment, skillfully avoiding the noise-trap and setting another once he had closed the window. He watched the blond boy sleep for a while, noting the tension in Naruto's shoulders that was slowly dissipating as his body recognized Gaara's presence. Gaara watched Naruto sleep for a while, smirking when the boy rolled over and muttered something about not turning into a girl for the pervert again. Even in his sleep the boy couldn't stay still. Gaara shook his head and took the book that he had picked up earlier in the day out of his pocket and prepared to finish the night.

**End of Chapter 03**

Sabaku Sousou – Desert Graveyard.

Thanks to **hogo-chan**,** Patty**,** Lady-Frisselle**,** Garnet-Crystals**,** Hime Shinidama no Megami**, and **Lostlily** for your awesome reviews!

Note: There may not be an update within the next two weeks due to family coming into town…but there may be a one-shot.

Thanks, as always, to **Asteroid Blues** for beta-ing!

**Edit:** Do I get payed?

No.


	5. Chapter 04: Destruction on a Sunny Day

**Disclaimer:** See Prologue (Chapter 00).

**Spoilers** up to Chapter 245.

**Human Nature  
**By: TailFear  
Beta: Asteroid Blues

**Chapter 04: Destruction on a Sunny Day**

Gaara and Naruto climbed the steps to Naruto's apartment slowly, tired after three days of traveling. The few tenants that were out pulled themselves back into their apartments as the two boys passed by, heads peeking out fearfully after they had passed by. Neither boy paid it any attention, instead they kept their eyes forward as they ascended the stairs to Naruto's lonely apartment. There was a tension in the air that made both of the boys wary, their eyes darting from side to side and to each other as the tension built with every step.

Naruto tensed as he inserted his key into the apartment lock, listening for anything amiss as he turned the key, then opened the door. There was something going on in the complex that made everyone even more wary that they normally were around him and Gaara. The door swung open slowly, not making a sound. Light streamed in from the windows in the living and dining rooms, reflecting off of broken glass and ceramic shards.

"Shit," Naruto muttered, pushing the door fully open, allowing more light to flood into the apartment.

Gaara followed Naruto into the apartment, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the damage that had been done to the small apartment. Most of the small windows were smashed, glass strewn across and crushed into the floor. What used to be a lamp was the source of the ceramic shards. The couch was in shreds, stuffing torn from cushions and strewn across the room, the frame broken and bend. The partition had been mostly torn down, and the dining room table overturned. Paint was smeared in bold red letters across the walls.

Naruto's eyes went first to the closed kitchen door, then to the closed bedroom door. Relief flashed across his face for a brief moment before he started to work his way through the apartment, trying to see if anything was salvageable. He was lucky that his couch had been more than second hand, and that he would need three new windows at least.

"Why were the kitchen and bedroom left alone?"

A feral sneer crawled across the blond's face as he eyed the two unharmed doors. If Gaara had been anyone else he would have been intimidated, but Gaara was Gaara, and had seen worse on his own face. The look was only there for a moment before Naruto's face smoothed back into its normal, calm lines.

"I was on an extended training mission for three years with Jiraiya. Somewhere along the way I picked up how to ward doors and even whole rooms," Naruto sighed, then looked at Gaara. "That's how Sakura was able to enter through the balcony, and I know that Kakashi added you to the list of people the wards recognized, or else you wouldn't be able to come and go."

"So they're like protective barrier jutsus."

Naruto nodded as he went into the kitchen for a broom and dustpan. Gaara had already started cleaning up when he came out, picking up pieces of couch stuffing and broken wood and dumping them into a pile. They worked silently, sifting through the mess that had been made of the apartment. Whoever had torn the apartment to pieces had done a good job, even leaving a few holes in the walls to accent their messages of "MONSTERS WILL DIE" and "FUCK YOU FREAKS".

The sounds of the balcony door sliding open put both boys instantly on the defensive, as they both fixed their gaze onto the bedroom door. When they heard Sakura's muffled mutterings both boys relaxed and continued cleaning up.

"What happened?"

Sakura's gasp brought about an awareness of how bad the apartment really looked as both boys stopped to look around once again. Naruto sighed and went to go stop Sakura before she stepped on glass as Gaara kept piling couch debris in the center of the room.

"Sakura-"

"This is horrible, Naruto!" Sakura's eyes were wide as she continued to look over the damage.

"Sakura," Naruto sighed, taking her by the shoulder and leading her back into the bedroom.

Gaara watched them go, standing in the middle of the destroyed living room. The red head wasn't too sure why he was even bothering to clean up, it wasn't like it was even really his home, or as if he really cared. But something resigned in Naruto's face led him to help. There was something about the other boy being used to actions like this against him that led him to help. Even Shukaku was uncharacteristically quiet. But then again, no one had ever been stupid enough to try anything like this to him.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU AREN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING?" Sakura's shriek made Gaara stop and look at the bedroom door.

Naruto's voice rose a little behind the door, shushing Sakura before she could start a full blown rant. Gaara smirked, then released his sand to finish cleaning up, using the sand like a large broom and sweeping the room from end to end until the glass and ceramic shards were in a large pile next to the pile of couch debris.

Naruto came back into the living room with a haggard look upon his face, his blue eyes showing his agitation. Noting the pile he set about remaking his partition, pulling the thin metal back into place and righting a makeshift shelf that partially disguised it. Using chakra helped to straighten out the dents, but the partition wasn't going to look as nice as it had.

"Thanks for cleaning up," Naruto said, looking at the two piles.

"We can set what's left of the couch on fire," Gaara said, eyeing the wood.

"I'll throw away the glass."

While Naruto swept up and threw away the glass Gaara worked his sand under the pile until the whole pile of stuffing and wood was lifted into the air, sitting on a cushion of sand. Naruto came back and opened the window in the living room that hadn't been broken, righting the dining room table as he went to open the last unbroken window in the dining room as well before he came back and performed a quick jutsu.

Both boys watched as the remains of the couch burst into flame. Smoke billowed up from the pile, filling the room only to escape from the small windows. Naruto sighed as he watched the fire die down, noting the stoic look that bordered on anger on Gaara's face. The blond wasn't sure if it was actual anger, or just the fact that someone had dared to destroy something of the red head's. But Naruto also knew that Gaara's status in the village was also being kept quiet, so the people who had vandalized his apartment probably hadn't realized that Gaara was living there.

"Tsunade wants to see us," Naruto commented offhandedly to his partner.

Gaara's eyes flickered over to Naruto before he nodded once and used his sand to smother what was left of the fire. Naruto didn't ask when the other boy pulled the ashes into his gourd with his sand, he didn't even want to know why or how, as long as they weren't in his even more dilapidated apartment.

"You need a new couch."

"I think Iruka-sensei has an old one that he wants to get rid of," Naruto mused as he and Gaara started back out the door, anger and irritation rolling off of them in waves.

-

Tsunade looked at the two boys as they sat down in her office. Something was bothering them, that was easy to tell, but exactly what was harder. Gaara was practically radiating killing intent, while Naruto was radiating resignation and irritation. Actually, the blond almost looked as tired as Gaara always did, but less intimidating.

"I called you in here to discuss your mission, but the two of you look like you have something else on your minds," she said, watching the boys' reactions.

"It's nothing," Naruto said, but Gaara only started glaring, his eyes focusing out the window.

"Naruto, what happened?" Tsunade asked, watching as a hard look entered Naruto's eyes.

"Nothing happened," Naruto repeated, looking into Tsunade's eyes.

"Naruto. What. Happened?"

Naruto wilted at Tsunade's tone of voice, sighing and looking away in defeat. Even Gaara wasn't looking at her, turning his glare to the floor so that he wouldn't see her reproachful look.

"It was nothing Tsunade-baba. Someone just destroyed my couch," Naruto said, ignoring Gaara's snort.

"Just destroyed your couch? In your apartment?" Tsunade asked, anger starting to flash in her eyes.

"It wasn't a big deal," Naruto protested futilely.

"It is too a bid deal. Someone broke into your apartment and destroyed your property, and you're trying to tell me that it isn't a big deal?" Tsunade growled, her fists clenching on top of her desk.

"They painted on the walls as well," Gaara added with a shrug, still looking anywhere but at Tsunade.

"Look, its nothing that hasn't happened before," Naruto snapped, starting to get angry. "This isn't anything that I can't deal with, so just drop it. And we aren't going to go hunting anyone, Gaara."

The red head shrugged, a flash of disappointment crossing his face before disappearing into his normally impassive face. Tsunade watched the two of them for a moment before sighing and letting the subject drop.

"So, how did your mission go?" she asked, watching relief wash over Naruto's face at the subject change.

"It went well, even with a few bandits who tried to get in the way," Naruto said, talking with his hands as he described the events that had happened on the trip. "We also got to do a little bit of sight seeing in Cloud Country when Aoishi-san had checked into her room."

Tsunade smiled, "So you two worked well together?"

"Yeah. No problems," Naruto said, smiling brightly at Tsunade as the woman looked between the two boys.

"That's good. That's very good."

-

"Well, do you want to get something to eat?" Naruto said.

He and Gaara were walking down the street, blending in with the masses of people, or at least the ones who weren't giving them a wide berth. They were headed back to Naruto's apartment for some rest.

Gaara shrugged, a gesture that Naruto was starting translate as a "yes". The blond smiled and laced his fingers together behind his head, watching Gaara out of the corner of his eye. Together the two of them made their way through Konoha, skillfully dodging people and carts while still blending into the crowd as much as the could. One couldn't be a ninja and stand out, that just wasn't the way of things. Shinobi couldn't blend in while standing out in a crowd.

They stopped at Naruto's favorite Ramen stand and ducked under the hanging drapes, taking two seats at Ichiraku's bar. Gaara had figured out the blond's obsession with the noodle dish within the first week. It wasn't that Naruto absolutely loved the stuff, it was just cheaper than everything else, including fresh fruits and vegetables, even when eaten out.

They weren't there for five minutes when they were joined by Shikamaru and Chouji. The other two chuunin waved and ordered, leaving Naruto and Gaara mostly alone except for the occasional comment added to Naruto's mostly one sided conversation.

"We heard about your apartment," Shikamaru said, staring into his noodles as he made a face and poked them with his chopsticks.

"Shit, how did you find out about that?" Naruto slammed his chopsticks onto the counter and leaned around Chouji in order to glare at the lazy boy.

"Sakura let something slip. There were also some older chuunin and gennin who were talking about something similar, so I put two and two together," Shikamaru said, ignoring Naruto who was trying to get into his face and eating his noodles.

"It's not a big deal, don't worry about it," Naruto said, pulling back and resuming his meal. Shikamaru and Gaara both snorted, but didn't say anything.

By the time Naruto and Gaara made it back to their shared apartment it was well past dark, and Naruto was dead tired. As soon as Naruto saw his bed he was basically passed out in it, asleep within seconds, leaving Gaara alone for the rest of the night.

The red headed boy sighed and went to go look for some blankets and a pillow in order to make himself comfortable for the night. He already knew that the blond boy didn't really have anything worth reading in his apartment, except for a few technique scrolls, and some dated academy texts.

Outside the air was cooling rapidly as a breeze blew through the city, ruffling Gaara's hair as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He was only free at night when he was allowed to roam. There was a small book store open late that he had found in his first week in Konoha.

He entered silently, quieting the bell before it could jingle. The bookstore employee looked up as Gaara walked by, looking down again quickly before the red head could take much interest in him. He'd heard about Gaara's capacity for violence.

Gaara walked through the isles, eyes quickly scanning over various titles and sections. He picked up a few books on geography and history, as well as some scrolls for advanced jutsus and a few books for amusement. Gaara brought his small load up to the counter and set them down, scaring the poor employee out of his wits. The purchase was rang up quickly and bagged as Gaara unfolded the bills and handing them over, ignoring the shaking of the employee behind the counter as he took his bags and left.

Gaara entered the apartment through the front door, dropping his bags and gourd onto the floor as he went to go make himself comfortable against the far living room wall. He released his hold on the chakra that kept the gourd solid, allowing the sand to spread across the floor, creating snaky patterns that stretched across the length of the hardwood floor. Sand swirled around his form before settling around him as he prepared to spend the rest of the night reading.

-

Naruto squinted at the sky, moving a hand in front of his face to block out the sun. The ground at his back was warm, calming, as he lounged in the grass next to Shikamaru on the other boy's favorite cloud watching spot. Neither boy felt like training, so Naruto had followed the brunette out to the edges of the Nara property where they would be relatively left alone.

"So what are you going to do about this apartment thing?" Shikamaru asked, not bothering to turn his head towards the blond.

After a while Naruto answered, "Nothing. I'm not going to do anything."

The brunette squinted over at the blond, dark eyes half closed, but sharp. Naruto hated it when the other boy gave him that look, it made him feel transparent. Even though he'd been gone for three years the other boy still held an uncanny ability to see right through any mask Naruto might choose to put up.

"Look," Naruto sighed, lowering his hand and closing his eyes, "It isn't like this hasn't happened before. It isn't a big deal."

"Is that why you don't buy good furniture?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, "That's why I don't buy good furniture, because most of mine ends up getting destroyed."

"You know that this isn't your fault, right?" Shikamaru asked in his drawling voice, looking back up at the sky.

"Yeah, right. Somehow its my fault anyway."

They lapsed back into silence as they watched the clouds roll by, just looking into the endless blue of the sky above them. Naruto let himself relax, allowing the sun to soak into his skin and warm him. Beside him Shikamaru slowly fell asleep, his eyes drifting further and further closed. A warm wind blew over them, bringing a smile to Naruto's face.

Quiet footsteps sounded behind them, coming up over the edge of the hill. Naruto leaned back and opened his eyes, squinting against the bright light. Gaara came over the hill and stopped above Naruto. The blond smiled up at his partner, and patted the ground next to him, motioning for Gaara to sit down next to him.

"What's up?" Naruto asked when Gaara had sat down.

Gaara watched as his partner closed his eyes again, occasionally opening them to watch the clouds roll by overhead. The red head settled down, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. They stayed quiet until Shikamaru groaned and sat up, nodding to Gaara.

"I've got to go, or else my mother will start nagging at me," the brunette said, a look of distaste on his face. Naruto waved a hand lazily and Gaara nodded as Shikamaru disappeared over the hill, walking slowly.

"How did you find me?" Naruto asked after a while, eyes opened and focused on his red-haired partner.

"I followed your chakra," Gaara said, focusing on the trees in the distance. He still wasn't used to the trees, and the feeling of open space.

"Ah."

Naruto watched as Gaara stared into the distance, just looking at his partner. He was surprised that the other boy had bothered to find him. From what he had known of Gaara most of his motives were completely random, especially when it concerned something that he had destroyed.

"Why are we hated so much?"

Gaara's eyes flickered over to the blond who had sat up. Bitterness was welling up inside of the blond, and it showed.

"They hate us because they're afraid," Gaara said. Naruto shivered at the hostile look on Gaara's face, reminding him of the danger that Gaara represented. "They hate us because they're afraid, and no one likes to be afraid. So they lash out, and try to destroy us, but they can't, because they aren't strong enough. So we get placed with the blame."

Abruptly Gaara stood up, sand starting to swirl around his form in agitation. Naruto looked up as his partner's fists clenched, his eyes narrowing in a glare. Naruto didn't know if it was because of Shukaku's hate for humanity, or Gaara's own distrust. The red head closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded to Naruto before leaving the blond alone with his thoughts as he disappeared over the hill.

Naruto shook his head and flopped back down to look at the sky some more. Asking Gaara the question that had been on his mind hadn't been the best idea, but he was almost desperate for anyone to say that it wasn't his fault. With a sigh he got up, stretched a little, and started making his way towards the Ninja Academy to see Iruka.

Classes weren't out when Naruto walked into the Academy, so he waited outside of the door until he heard the class being dismissed. Once the stampede had ended Naruto entered, smiling as Iruka looked up.

"Naruto! What are you doing here?" Iruka asked, setting aside the papers that he had been grading.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei. I was wondering if you still had that couch you were trying to get rid of," Naruto said, taking a seat in the front row of the classroom, fiddling nervously with a kunai.

"Why do you want it all of a sudden?" Iruka asked, watching Naruto's fidgeting curiously.

"My old couch, uh, kind of died on me," Naruto said, not meeting Iruka's curious look.

"What happened to it?" Iruka asked, watching a blush slowly spread across Naruto's face.

"It was destroyed," Naruto whispered, the tiles around his feet catching his eye and keeping it there.

He heard Iruka sigh, "Naruto-"

"Look Iruka-sensei," Naruto cut him off, waving his hand around, "I didn't destroy my own couch, okay? Someone had the pleasure of doing that for me."

"Your house was broken into again?"

Naruto nodded, the blush still staining his cheeks, whiskers and all. Iruka got up and went over to the teen, placing a hand on the blond's shoulders.

"You should say something about this, and it would be taken care of," Iruka said, trying to comfort the obviously distressed boy.

"It isn't as if it hasn't happened before," Naruto protested.

"But it's the same principle," Iruka said, pulling over another chair. "You are a citizen of this village, with the same rights as everyone else."

"Except everyone hates me," Naruto growled, looking away from his teacher.

"Naruto."

"Sorry I said anything Iruka-sensei. Can I pick up the couch?" Naruto had plastered a hopeful smile on his face as he turned back around. Iruka sighed and nodded, earning himself an enthusiastic hug from the smiling blond.

"So how are you doing with your partner?" Iruka asked, noting a few specks of sand lingering on Naruto's clothes.

"It isn't too bad. We're getting along well, and he hasn't randomly destroyed anything but my alarm clock, so it's been going pretty well," Naruto said with a smile.

Iruka smiled and ruffled the blond's hair, earning himself an indignant squawk as Naruto batted him away, smiling again. Naruto's smile dropped a little as he left the Academy and headed home, stopping to pick up some cheap white paint on the way home in order to finish cleaning up his apartment.

Gaara was reading when Naruto entered, camped out on the floor in the middle of a nest of pillows and blankets. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the red head as he set the cans of paint down on the ground, but shrugged when he received what almost amounted to a glare of death. He decided to do the smart thing and not comment as he went to the kitchen to start cooking dinner, leaving the green-eyed boy alone with his book.

"Here."

Naruto turned around to see a book shoved in his face. He took it and looked at Gaara who was already walking away.

"What's this for?"

Gaara turned around and gave him a look that was better than Shikamaru's when he thought at stupid question had been asked.

"It's a book, you read it."

Naruto sighed, "I know that, but why?"

"Because you need to read more," Gaara said before disappearing. Naruto sighed and put the book on the dining room table.

**End of Chapter 04**

Alright, so I lied and there's a chapter this week, but its only because my family didn't come into town. (They think that they're coming next weekend….yeah, right in the middle of a 24 hr. Gundam Wing marathon. Good luck.)

Anyway, thanks to **figurechan**, **hogo-chan**, **Fallen Dragon**, **A.L.S.**, **Lady-Frisselle**, and **Fairady** for their reviews.

And thanks to **esther**, **gargoylesama**, **rembrandt**, and **FiendisHSerapH** for their reviews on Taller.

And as always, thanks to **Asteroid Blues** for beta-ing.


	6. Chapter 05: Low Clouds and Tall Grass

**Disclaimer:** See Prologue (Chapter 00).

**Spoilers** through Chapter 246.

**Human Nature**  
By: TailFear  
Beta: Asteroid Blues

**Chapter 05: Low Clouds and Tall Grass**

The village was smaller than Konoha and the city in Cloud Country. It was almost as small as some of the villages scattered across Wind Country, but with fields and trees instead of sand dunes. Despite cool temperatures the ground was dry, sending up small clouds of dust as the two travelers walked along. Buildings in small Grass Country villages tended to be smaller, one or two story and painted in earth tones, making them almost blend into the surroundings.

Northern Grass Country got cold earlier than in most other climates, and already its citizens were donning heavy cloaks and jackets whenever outside. The travelers had prepared for cool weather, but they hadn't expected the sudden drop in temperature that had happened the night before, leaving them shivering even after the sun had risen. They were heading towards a small village two miles north of them on a Class-A reconnaissance/assassination mission regarding a prominent businessman who's main center of business was in this village.

The closer they got to the village, the more people they started to meet. As the duo traveled they kept quiet, ignoring the curious looks that were being sent their way. They had spent nearly a week on the road to get where they were, and felt as haggard as they looked, which would help the story that they had thought up as a cover for them being in the village.

The amount of looks only increased as they actually entered the village. They certainly looked out of place with their light skin and eyes, as well as the large packs, umbrellas, and a gourd carried on their backs. They were also not wearing cloaks or jackets similar to those of the natives, but thick sweatshirts and fingerless gloves that would have worked well except for the unexpected temperature drop.

The local inn was the tallest building in the village at four stories. The lady working behind looked up as the travelers opened the door, sending a small gust of cold air into the building. Instantly she felt sorry for the duo when she saw how ragged, weary, and cold they looked.

"How many rooms can I get for you two?"

She watched as they two looked at each other then pulled out some money, counting their combined bills before looking up.

"We'll need one room for the night. We can't really afford more than that."

The blond boy shrugged helplessly while handing the bills over, the red head with him staying silent. The lady wasn't sure if the bags around the red heads eyes were from a severe lack of sleep or something worse, they were that bad. Together they were a pitiable sight, both with tired eyes and bodies wearied from the road.

"Where are you two coming from?" she asked as she counted their bills, feeling guilty about taking their money.

"We're from Fire Country," the blond said, looking back at his partner who nodded.

"You've come all the way from Fire Country on foot?"

"Yeah," the blond blushed and looked at his feet.

"Are you running from something? Why have you come all the way here?" the lady was looking on with concern as the blond's blush faded and he looked back towards his partner, a slightly panicked look on his face.

"We ran away," the red head said bluntly. There was something in his eyes that made the lady nervous.

"We really didn't have much of a choice," the blond's smile was sad and pleading at the same time as he looked up at her, his eyes pleading and melting her heart.

"Just how old are you two?"

"Sixteen," the blond winced as she gasped, her hand clutching her shirt as the looked over the two again.

"No, no, you two can't stay here," the lady said, eliciting a panicked look from the two boys as the blond started shifting nervously, his eyes wide. "I can't just allow two boys out on their own to stay here when I can help you. You can stay with me, and here in the village, until you get your own place."

The two boys shared sketchy looks as the lady handed their money back to them, then called for someone in back to come up and replace her because she was going home early.

"My name is Morimoto Yomi."

She bowed to the two boys who shared another look before bowing themselves.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Sabaku Gaara."

Yomi raised an eyebrow at the red head, then shrugged and waved to the women who replaced her at the counter before herding the two boys out the inn's door.

"You've come to a good place if you want to hide out, especially if your situation is as bad as you are hinting at. My husband and I just had our only daughter move out and get married, so we're a little lonely around the house," Yomi kept an eye on the two boys as she maneuvered them through the moderately crowded town square and away from the main store front. They moved down a side street and stopped at a small, one-story house painted a dark green color.

"Keitaro, we have company."

Naruto and Gaara watched as an older man came from the back of the house, stopping short when he saw the two boys standing in front of his smiling wife.

"Yomi, honey, what's going on?" his dark eyes looked skeptically over the two boys, noting the dirt and grime as well as the weariness, but also noting the slight way that the two held themselves that suggested that they weren't as helpless as they seemed.

Yomi moved from behind the two boys so that she could speak with her husband in near private.

"They're all on their own. Look at how tired they are, they won't make it much longer, especially from what I think they're running away from. I doubt that they will make trouble for us," Yomi said, watching her husband as he watched the two boys over her shoulder, a contemplative look on his face.

Naruto had moved closer to Gaara and was talking quietly with the taller boy, smiling every time he caused Gaara to roll his eyes. They were doing a good job of acting completely harmless, especially the blond boy, but there was an air about both that made Keitaro nervous, especially with the odd gourd that the red head carried with him.

"Fine, they can stay. But they're going to have to follow all the same rules that our children did, including getting jobs and doing chores," he said even as his wife's smile lit up her face.

Yomi hugged him before turning around and facing the boys, noting the curious look on the blond's face, and the still impassive look on Gaara's.

"You can stay in our extra room," Yomi said, moving back to the boys so that she could herd them again, this time on a quick tour of the house as Keitaro followed behind. "We'll also be having dinner in a little bit, giving you both enough time to clean up and change clothes if you can."

"We don't know how to thank you," Naruto said, bowing to both of them, followed jerkily by Gaara. Both adults were getting the idea that the red head didn't talk much and was perfectly content to let the blond talk for him most of the time.

"You two are very welcome. I couldn't just let you keep yourselves out in the cold," Yomi said, smiling at the two as she showed them to the room that they were going to be staying in, then leaving them alone after showing them the adjoining bathroom and helping pull out the spare futon.

"This was lucky," Naruto said as he and Gaara dumped their packs onto the floor.

Gaara had leaned his gourd in a corner as Naruto found clean clothes for the both of them, complete with sweatshirts and gloves. They took turns cleaning up before getting down to the business of securing the room, setting traps under the window discretely, but leaving the door uncovered.

"This will be a good starting base of operations," Naruto said, toweling his wet hair as he pulled on his boots at the same time.

"The husband is already suspicious," Gaara said, his green eyes trained on the door.

"That's to be expected. I'm surprised that Yomi-san actually offered to let us live with her without even knowing us," Naruto commented, still feeling a bit overwhelmed.

The call of, "Dinner's ready!" from Yomi brought a smile to Naruto's face as he finished tying his boots and sped out of the room. Gaara rolled his eyes and walked calmly after his partner.

Gaara met Keitaro's look with his usual indifference as he took the seat next to Naruto. The blond was nearly bouncing in his seat with anticipation of the first real meal that they had to eat in days other than ninja rations and sandy game (Naruto had given up on hunting game when Gaara had persisted in swamping everything that moved with sand, then bringing it along as food while glaring at Naruto as if daring him to complain). Gaara hadn't cared, but Naruto had started rolling his eyes and sighing every time Gaara killed another innocent woodland creature.

"Here you are, miso soup and udon."

Yomi placed the two large bowls on the table before taking each of the male's two bowls and filling them with a portion of soup before handing them back. They ate in moderate silence occasionally broken by a compliment to the cooking or a request for something to be passed or for another serving.

"Thank you very much for the meal," Naruto said, beaming in both Yomi and Keitaro's directions as Gaara nodded.

"It's nothing, you two look half starved anyway," Yomi said, waving off Naruto's thanks.

Naruto blushed and looked down again, fidgeting nervously with his gloves. This caught both Yomi and Keitaro's eyes. The couple looked over the two boys in front of them, noting the slim frames and wiry muscle hidden under baggy clothing. Neither had the outright look of abuse, but they didn't look like they are their fill all of the time either, which was helped by their trip from Fire Country.

"How about you two go to sleep for the night. Then tomorrow we can all go out and show you two around," Yomi said with a smile.

"Do you think that we could look for jobs as well?" Naruto asked, surprising everyone else in the room except for Gaara.

Yomi blinked, then looked at her husband who was watching the two boys with consideration. After a moment he nodded, making Yomi blink as well.

"Why would you want to go looking for a job when you just got here?" Yomi asked.

"We just don't want to be a burden. Neither of us are really used to being cared for…" Naruto trailed off, his eyes flickering towards Gaara who was sitting stoically beside him.

"No, no, I didn't mean that," Yomi stood up and walked around the table so that she could hug Naruto around the shoulders. She would have reached out to Gaara as well, but he a look that said he wasn't receptive to touching.

After a few moments Naruto started to shift nervously, trying to be polite and not just push Yomi off of him. Gaara just rolled his eyes at Naruto's helpless looks and Keitaro snorted, recognizing the look from his younger days.

"Yomi, you can let the boy go now, before your attentions kill him."

Yomi scowled at her husband, but let go, much to Naruto's relief. They cleaned up the dishes from dinner with Naruto and Gaara's help before the two boys were shooed off to bed. Keitaro walked with them as they headed towards the back of the house.

"Now, I know that my wife has pulled you in and allowed you to stay, but I'm still not sure about this. I don't want you two to be causing any trouble. You aren't going to be kicked out, but I will be keeping an eye on you. After tomorrow we'll enroll you in school, and a job is a good idea. I don't mean to sound harsh, but you do have to believe that I'm trying to look after my family and wife, even if she is the only one living here," Keitaro looked over the two boys in front of him as they stopped in front of the bedroom door.

Gaara's face had returned to its normal expressionless state while Naruto smiled brightly, reassuringly. Two different reactions, two distinctly different boys. Keitaro made a mental note of this and nodded before heading back down the hall, leaving the two boys alone.

"He's definitely perceptive," Naruto commented quietly, his smile growing genuine at the sign of a challenge.

"Baka," Gaara muttered, heading into the room. Naruto just smiled again and followed his partner into the small room, ready for the night ahead.

The high school was a good sized three story building that also encompassed the elementary and middle school as well. Naruto and Gaara had been dropped off in front of the building with the Yomi's assurance that she had already talked to the school administrators about their situation, so all they had to do was go in and talk to someone in the front office to receive their class assignment and receive their books.

"This is stupid," Naruto whined once he was sure that Yomi was completely out of sight and earshot.

Gaara rolled his eyes at the blond and walked into the building, leaving Naruto scrambling to catch up. The office wasn't hard to find, especially with the sign posted above it. A middle-aged woman was sitting behind a wide counter that partially blocked the way to another office behind it.

"You are the two new boys, aren't you?" she asked, looking up from a few of the scattered files in front of her.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku Gaara," Naruto said helpfully, watching the woman pull two files from a stack and look through them.

"You are both in classroom 312, on the third floor, in the high school wing," she said with a smile. "If you come back here I can also give you your books."

"Thank you," Naruto smiled brightly before he and Gaara walked around the partition picked up their small stack of textbooks.

"Oh," the woman's voice stopped both of them on their way out. "Here, your locker combination, its on the same floor."

Naruto thanked the woman again and left, following the other boy out into the hallway. They ignored the looks that they were receiving as they walked through the building. On the top floor they found both their locker and their classroom and decided to find a few seats.

"Ah, you're the new students," the teacher looked up as they walked into the classroom.

"Yeah," Naruto said, drawing the attention of the students already in the class towards him and Gaara.

"Well, normally we have assigned seats," the teacher said, taking a moment to look over the seating chart in front of her on the desk. "We have two seats open in the fourth row on the far right," she indicated to the seats before turning her attention away from them, allowing them to take their seats.

"This isn't too much different than the academy," Naruto commented, eyeing the tiered steps and neatly arranged desks.

Gaara nodded from his seat on the outside of the row, as far away from people as he could get. The blond sighed and leaned back in his seat, his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling, ignoring the looks that he and Gaara were receiving as the class slowly filled.

"Alright class, we have two new students. Please raise your hands," both Naruto and Gaara raised their hands. "Be sure to make them feel welcome here in school and around town."

The class mumbled its agreement before settling down and pulling out their first textbook. Naruto and Gaara followed their example and pulled out their own textbooks, paying attention along with the rest of the class as the teach began to write on the board and instruct them aloud.

During the break between classes when the teachers switched Naruto and Gaara were bombarded by questions from the students sitting around them.

"Where are you two from? You don't look like anyone from around here," a girl in the row in front of them was turned around in her seat, curiously watching the two of them.

"We're from Fire Country," Naruto said, feeling a little unnerved by all of the people who were paying attention to him and his partner.

"How did you get all the way up here if you're from Fire Country?" another girl asked, leaning over the row behind.

"We walked," Gaara's cold answer stopped the questions for a moment as the curious students gulped at his tone of voice. He did spare any of them a glance, just watched out the window as the occasional bird flew by.

"You walked?" the first girl squeaked, her dark eyes wide.

Naruto sighed and continued to answer questions despite Gaara's obvious annoyance with the situation, "Yes, we walked. And yes, it took a long time."

Both girls made noises of amazement as the boys around them rolled their eyes. Naruto was starting to figure out that he and Gaara were sitting in the middle of a good group of friends as they all clustered around.

"So you're from Fire Country. Why have you stopped here?" a boy in front of them asked suspiciously.

"Ran away," Naruto said simply, smiling at the few gasps he got. "We were going to stay at the inn, by Morimoto Yomi decided to take us in, so we're staying there until we can afford our own place."

"You two are traveling together," the statement came from the boy beside them who shared the same looks as the girl in the row ahead.

"Well, obviously," the first girl snapped, rolling her eyes as if the situation was obvious. "Why else would they be here together, Kenichi?"

The boy bristled, obviously annoyed by her taunt, "Maybe they didn't run away together, Bara. Maybe they met up along the way."

Naruto sighed and interjected before Bara could continue, "We did run away together."

The whole group looked at him, then to Gaara who was still not paying attention. Any further questions were cut short by the next teacher arriving in the classroom, calling the class to order and calming everyone down. Naruto sighed with relief as everyone turned their attentions away from him and Gaara and turned to switching textbooks.

A small piece of paper at his elbow caught his attention and he quickly palmed it in the middle of opening his new textbook.

"_You're too talkative_," was written in Gaara's perfect kanji. Naruto scowled and drew a rude picture in reply before stealthily returning the note back to Gaara.

"So, what are you two doing now that school's out?" the girl from the row behind, whose name ended up being Naru, asked as she caught up to the two boys as they left the building.

"I don't know. I think we were just going to wander around and try to get a little more used to the village," Naruto said with a shrug, casting a discrete glance in Gaara's direction to catch the red head's uncaring look.

"I know a good little ramen stand that's just a few streets over, if you'd like to go. A group of my friends will be there, but I also heard you saying something about jobs, and they're hiring," Naru said helpfully.

Naruto had been lured in hook, line, and sinker at the word "ramen", but the word "job" connected to it only made him start to bounce in anticipation. Naru gave him an odd look as the blond boy went over to his partner and nearly started to drag the other boy after him as he followed her down the street, the red head giving Naruto a look of death that was starting to scare her silly.

"Hey, guys, this is Naruto and Gaara," Naru introduced them as they approached the ramen stand, taking a seat at the bar next to a group of friend. "And you two know Bara and Kenichi, they're siblings."

Naruto nodded and sat down next to Naru, leaving Gaara to glare at them all and sit down on the other side of Naruto, pointedly acting like he wasn't there.

"Does he always act like that?" a shorter girl asked, frowning and leaning around so that she could get a better look at Gaara.

"Pretty much," Naruto said with a shrug, content to happily order himself the biggest bowl of miso ramen they had, and a smaller bowl of pork for Gaara.

"Dude, what's with the eyeliner?" one of the unnamed boys had moved around Naruto to closely observe Gaara's face, completely ignoring the warning signs that Gaara constantly gave off.

"I wouldn't do that," Naruto warned in a singsong voice, sticking his hand out to push the boy away from Gaara as the red head's face flickered with anger. "Besides," he added, "It's natural for him, he doesn't sleep well."

The boy made a doubtful "oh" sound and backed off, even though his tone said he didn't really believe the blond boy.

"That's Seijiro, the one with the dumb questions," Naru pointed out, rolling her eyes as the said boy protested. "The short girl is Meimei, the boy with the shaved head is Kaiba, and the girl with the braid is Motoko."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Kaiba, "Don't you get cold?"

Kaiba shrugged his shoulders, "Not really."

Naruto bounced up and down when his noodles arrived, earning himself a few amused looks from the small group. With a quick "Itadakimatsu" he snapped his chopsticks apart and happily dug in.

"Dude, you're like a vacuum," Seijiro said, eyes wide as he watched the noodles disappear into Naruto's seemingly endless stomach.

"Wha?" Naruto blinked as the group of people watching him, oblivious.

"Your eating," Gaara said bluntly.

Naruto made a noise of understanding, but didn't stop eating, humming happily to himself as the group watched him with slightly disgusted awe. Gaara went back to ignoring them, eating quickly, but quietly, not drawing any attention towards himself.

"So, Fire Country. What's it like?" Kaiba asked, picking through his own noodles absently.

"Warm," Naruto said with a smile. "Definitely warm. Pretty dry as well, with just enough rain to keep everything alive and thriving. Where I lived we were closer to Wind Country, so the temperatures stayed hotter than normal every once in a while."

"Not like here, huh?" Kaiba said.

"Nope, not like here at all," Naruto said, smiling wistfully to himself for a moment before blinking and showering the group with one of his hundred watt smiles.

After the group had dispersed Naruto and Gaara hung back, Naruto waving cheerfully until everyone was out of sight. When everyone had left Naruto dropped his hand and looked up to see the owner of the ramen stand watching him with amused eyes.

"I heard from Yomi that she had brought two pale, starving boys home the other day," the man said, watching as Naruto flushed.

"Yeah, that would be us," Naruto said, smiling brightly.

"You sure do seem to love noodles," the stand owner commented, smiling as Naruto nodded enthusiastically and Gaara rolled his eyes, looking irritated with the blond.

"Oh, oh. Naru said something about you hiring," Naruto said, bouncing over to the counter and leaning forward, placing himself as close to the stand owner as he could, his face screaming "PLEASE!".

"I don't know boy. How am I supposed to know that you won't just up and disappear?" the owner asked, watching Naruto as the blond's face twisted into a look of concentration.

"I'll tell you in advance if I need to leave, how about that," Naruto said, sticking his hand out to be shaken.

The shop owner smirked, "I like you kid. You have the job, but you'd better show up on time." He stuck his hand out and clasped Naruto's, pumping their combined hands up and down a few times. "Watanabe Seta."

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service," Naruto beamed, then untangled his hand from Seta's and bounced back over to Gaara.

The night was even darker in northern Grass Country than it was back home in Konoha, making it even easier to blend in. At night neither Gaara nor Naruto were distracted by having to blend in or dodge, they were free to move silently through the streets, using the shadows to their advantage.

The man that they were searching for, their target, was a prominent business man who was rumored to be involved with drug and arms trafficking, as well as some rumored situations involving children, which was the main reason their mission was being funded. The reconnaissance part of the mission was actually catching the man in the act to be doubly sure. It was also to give some closure to parents of those who had already been taken or harmed.

There was no sound as the two shinobi made their way through descending mists, creeping cat-like through the darkness as they left the village and disappeared into the surrounding fields. Even if the village appeared clear the surrounding geography was one that could hide almost anything in its numerous valleys.

Once in the woods they separated, occasionally imitating a birdcall to keep track of each other and to make sure that they were within earshot. A low, long whistle brought Gaara up behind Naruto who was crouching down at the edge of a rocky outcropping that overlooked a deep valley. Nestled contently in the valley was the start of what looked like a small warehouse district, complete with floodlights and barbed wire fencing.

"This has got to be the base of operations," Naruto whispered. He was flat on his stomach, his brilliant blond hair covered by a black bandana, binoculars up to his eyes as he observed the comings and goings amongst the buildings below.

"Is the target sighted?" Gaara asked, crouching down next to Naruto.

"There are a few possibilities, we'll have to check around the village," Naruto murmured, taking the time to commit the district's layout to memory.

Beside him Gaara closed his eyes and concentrated, sand swirling off the gourd at his back and into the palm of his hand as a sphere. A quick, almost unnoticeable burst of chakra completed the jutsu, leaving him with a small eyeball that leaked sand sitting in the center of his hand. The rusty-haired ninja closed his eyes and relaxed as the eyeball made of sand disappeared into the darkness of the night.

"There's four men in suits, and about twenty men with the minion or hired thug air, and enough weapons to arm a small country, mostly small blades or pole arms, but supplemented with dynamite and enough explosives to level most of Konoha," Gaara's voice was quiet, contemplative as he sifted through the images that were being filtered through his brain while using his third-eye technique.

"I can account for bodyguards and perimeter guards patrolling with pole arms and high tech communication equipment," Naruto commented, still keeping an eye on the buildings below him while keeping an eye on his partner as well.

Another burst of chakra signaled the release of the jutsu as Gaara opened his eyes, blinking a few times to reorient himself. Naruto handed off the binoculars so that the other teen could see what he had been seeing. They hid together long enough for Gaara to assess the situation.

"We should set up a surveillance schedule," Naruto said, taking the binoculars back from his partner so that he could continue to scout the area below their position.

Naruto then blinked and looked at his partner who was giving him a look that suggested the blond was stupid. The blond frowned for a moment, then rolled his eyes, recognizing his partner's mood.

"I know you're taking nights. I was talking about during the day."

The apartment was a small one on the top floor of a three-story building in the middle of an equally small apartment complex. Yomi had protested Naruto and Gaara's leaving so quickly, but Keitaro had only nodded quietly and helped them move their bags into their new place. They boys were thankful for the kindness and support that had been shown to them by the couple, but neither boy was used to living with rules and someone watching over them, which fueled their need to get their own place.

The apartment they had found was half way between the school and the hidden warehouse district, making it a strategically sound place for a base of operations. Gaara had also found a nearby bookstore that was hiring and had acquired a job that allowed him to mostly stay away from people, as he generally preferred to do. The red-haired boy had also taken tests which allowed him to gain a certificate of competence which allowed him to drop out of high school and work more, much to Yomi's disapproval. When the two boys had explained their situation to her she had sighed and waved her hand, shooing them out of her sight as she allowed them to move out.

While Naruto was in school, something that Gaara had insisted on with very forcible glares despite the blond's whining, the red head was able to do some reconnaissance when he wasn't working. Between the two of them they were starting to find a pattern in the movements of the people that tended to populate the warehouse district. Neither had felt the need to do some closer questioning of a few of the less intelligence lackeys, but that was their next option if things didn't pick up. They had been mostly unsuccessful while searching for information on their target as well, but rumors were always flying rampant through the streets, making it only a matter of time until they heard something worthwhile.

**To Be Continued…**

With regards to reviews for Taller, Sight, and Speeding Away, thanks to **FiendisHSerapH**, **iremat**, **Sariachan-A Kokiri Leaf**, **Ivy Adrena**, **Keira**,

Edit: moneys! **Tsugath**, **Moon Ryoko**, **Lady-Frisselle**, **Sariachan-A Kokiri Leaf**, and **esther**.

From HN, thanks to **Ivy Adrena**, **TFI-Muse**, **black/bLacKBodian**, **figurechan**, **R e c r a p t o r**, **Lara**, **Garnet-Crystals**, **hogo-chan**, **Death Phoenix**, **Sariachan-A Kokiri Leaf**, **Sierra-Falls**, **vixen**, and **Lady-Frisselle**.

**Lady-Frisselle:** To answer your question, only the adults know if I've been reading the manga right. Neji knows there's something else in Naruto, as does Sasuke and probably Sakura, and Shika might have figured it out, but the only kid who really knows is Gaara. I'm trying to keep with this as much as I can, but its going to leak sometime soon. Thanks for asking!

To everyone who asked about pairings and the R rating: A) concerning the R rating, and the rating of anything else, go check my bio, I don't care to explain it again. B) there will be no pairing at the moment. I'm not even sure if there's going to be a pairing (a main one at least, there may be ShikaTem or something…), so don't get your hopes up yet.

About that Gundam Wing marathon, it was only because I got the whole series, but was postponed like this chapter due to grandparents coming into town, school, work, and general writers block.

And, as always, thanks to my awesome beta Asteroid Blues who has been sick for the last week.


	7. Chapter 06: A Case of Predator and Prey

Disclaimer: See Prologue.

**Spoilers**, etc.

**Human Nature**  
By: TF  
Beta: Asteroid Blues

**Chapter 06: A Case of Predator and Prey **

"The influx of our target's people is making the villagers nervous."

Naruto cracked a blue eye open to regard his partner from his sprawled out position on a futon.

"There are also rumors circulating concerning rising crime and kidnapping rates in the surrounding villages. Our target doesn't seem to be containing his men well."

Gaara was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his face stoic. The sheets rustled as Naruto sat up, sleep gone from his eyes as his mind turned through recent events.

"The activity level at the warehouse district is unusual as well," Naruto commented, his eyes flickering towards his partner as he spoke. "If we don't move soon we'll have to follow the target when he moves. It's been two months since we started reconnaissance and we haven't found anything new in the last week other than more thugs swarming into the area."

"We'll wait a few days," Gaara said, his green eyes looking over the village through their small window. "We'll give them time to become complacent, then we'll go in."

"We don't really need any more information anyway. We've figured out the traffic patterns for the drugs and weapons, as well as destinations and other major players. We have pictures, diagrams, and a file folder full of other information. The recon part of the mission is done," Naruto added.

He stood up and made his way over to the table where their papers, pictures, and scrolls were scattered across the top of the varnished wood, vaguely stacked into piles according to type or content. With a sigh he turned back to his partner who was still standing in front of the window.

"We need to get this done as soon as possible," Naruto said.

"Tomorrow night. Tell your employer, because we won't be here the next morning," Gaara said as he turned around.

"Hey, what about your job?" Naruto protested.

Gaara gave his partner a perfectly blank look before heading towards the door, "I get paid daily, and with a day's notice I can disappear."

Naruto watched his partner for a moment before shaking his head, a smile stretching across his face, "You just scared the guy shitless until he would pay you to leave with a day's notice or less, or even better, to not show up at all, didn't you?"

"He was easily intimidated," Gaara replied casually.

Naruto followed him out the door as the left the apartment, activating the low-level ward plastered to the lock before shutting the door behind them and locking it. He had to speed up to catch Gaara who hadn't slowed down, walking in comfortable silence beside his taller partner. At the school Naruto peeled off from the Sand shinobi, heading into the building as his partner walked on through the crowd.

"You two sure don't act like you would be friends," Naru said as Naruto sat down in his seat in front of her.

"The situation is a little different than you might think," Naruto replied simply before leaning back in his seat and grinning brightly at the dark girl.

"Oh, care to explain?" Naru asked, leaning forward until she could look directly into the blonde's eyes.

"Nah, not really," Naruto's grin didn't falter.

Naru gave a frustrated growl before plopping back into her seat, pouting as Naruto's grin grew larger. Bara came into the classroom and sat down in front of Naruto before turning around and giving the duo a curious look.

"Did I miss something?" she asked.

"Just the conversation concerning the friendship between Naruto and the creepy red-head that he lives with," Naru said, ignoring Naruto's rolled eyes.

"So what? They're friends," Bara said, looking a little confused.

"But they're completely different!" Naru protested.

"So are Seijiro and Kaiba, but they still are found together," Bara pointed out.

Naru snorted, "That's only because Seijiro follows Kaiba around; otherwise Kaiba would have nothing to do with Seijiro."

"Boys are weird, leave it at that," Bara advised.

Naruto made a face at her last comment before settling down in his seat and taking out his materials for class. He shifted uncomfortably a few times, trying to shake the feeling that something wasn't right. After a few minutes the feeling went away, leaving him just a little more paranoid than normal.

After school was over Naruto excused himself from the group and headed to the noodle stand. At the back entrance he dropped his bag near the door and pulled his apron over his head and tied it around his waist. Seta was already at the stove where different pots of soup were simmering on a large stovetop range. There was a base broth formula that just held noodles that was surrounded by different spice and flavor formulas to easily make many different kinds of Ramen. Also simmering were other kinds of Ramen such as chicken or pork, or miso soup, and on some days even oden.

"Naruto-kun, nice to see you," Seta said as Naruto entered the kitchen.

"Seta-san, I have some bad news," Naruto said quietly.

The older man gave Naruto a startled look before Naruto could put his hands up in defense.

"It isn't anything too bad. Gaara and I are just planning to leave after tomorrow," Naruto said.

"Thanks for giving me some notice, Naruto-kun. You've done well here," Seta said, clapping Naruto on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Seta-san," Naruto said quietly before helping the older man with the new orders.

"I can pay you after your shift today, so don't worry about coming in tomorrow, we can cover it here until we find a replacement," Seta said, smiling at Naruto's relieved look.

"Thanks again," Naruto said, setting a bowl of noodles down in front of a customer before returning to the stove.

"Again, it was no problem Naruto," Seta said.

Naruto smiled to himself as he worked, stirring soups and serving bowls of noodles to customers seated on the stools at the bar of the small stand. His shift didn't end until early evening, so it was almost dark by the time he draped his apron over its hook and picked up his bag. He merged into the crowd just outside of the noodle stand and made his way home, avoiding the growing amounts of newcomers sporting the 'hired thug' look like it was going out of style.

"There are even more of them today than there were yesterday," Naruto said to Gaara.

The red head looked up the papers he was sorting long enough to nod. There was no need to say who they were, because they had been the subject of their observation for weeks now. Naruto sighed and dropped his bag by his futon before rummaging through the cabinets for something to eat.

* * *

"These new people sure are creepy," Naru commented, shuddering when her eyes passed over yet another grinning, questionable character. 

"Ignore them and they'll just pass through when they're done with their business," Kaiba said, disdain coloring his tone as he looked over the assorted rabble loitering in the streets. "They're drifters, they'll leave soon."

"I hope you're right, because they're really starting to creep people out, especially with the kidnapping reports that have come in," Naru said, wrapping her arms around her waist as she hugged herself tighter in the cold air.

Naru and Kaiba continued to walk down the street, heading for home. Both were twitchy, nervous, like the rest of their small village around the shady people who were slowly filtering in. They met up with Motoko and Meimei a few blocks away from the noodle stand, and together they decided to get something to eat where mostly locals hung around.

"My mother said that we needed to hang out in groups, so I made Motoko go with me," Meimei said, her eyes a little wider than normal in her heart-shaped face.

Motoko was looking surly, like she didn't want to be anywhere near the rest of them, but she hung close, keeping within a few feet of everyone else while occasionally sending wary looks over her shoulder. The four of them huddled close at the bar of the noodle stand, eating in relative silence as they listened to the heightened bustle of people moving along the streets at their backs.

"I'm suddenly not too upset about what my mother said," Meimei said quietly, her eyes locked over her shoulder.

Motoko looked over her shoulder, then quickly looked back, focusing on her noodles as Kaiba, then Naru did the same. After a few more moments of allowing Meimei to stare Kaiba distracted her by grabbing her shoulder, turning her attention away from the street. Behind them a taller man stood in the street with tattoos circling their way up his arms, across his back, and up his neck to the base of his scull. That wasn't all that made him stand out in the crowd of shady people, it was also the scrolls hanging off of his vest and pocketed pants, and the largest sword any of them had ever seen at over five feet long, and the small area around him that had been cleared by the thugs.

"We should be leaving now," Kaiba said quietly, nudging the girls around him into movement.

The girls nodded and placed their money and tips on the bar counter along with Kaiba and got up, standing behind him as he maneuvered them through the growing crowds of people, the girls clinging to each other and to him. They made their way through the crowd like this, in a small, moving blob until they were completely immersed in a sea of people.

They didn't notice that they were being followed until they were out of the crowd and most of the way to their homes. The sword-carrying man was striding along behind them, a grin on his face as he watched them move nervously in a shuffling group. It was Naru who noticed him first, when she turned around to check a noise that she had heard coming from behind her. Her startled eyes looked up into the grinning man's and she gave a startled squeak, which alerted the rest of the group, then started pushing at them to move faster.

"Naru, what?" Kaiba's voice was stressed until he, too, turned around and saw who exactly was following them.

"Well, aren't we a pretty little group," the man's voice was deep, and leery as he looked over the three young girls in front of him.

"No," Meimei's voice squeaked as her eyes grew impossibly wider.

"I think you are. Now, who will come with me?" he grinned, showing brilliant white teeth against darkly tanned skin.

"No one is going to come with you. Leave us alone, now," Kaiba ordered, moving to stand in front of the girls protectively.

"No, I don't think I will."

Suddenly they were surrounded by cloying smoke that fogged their vision and lodged in their throats as they bent over, coughing and wiping their running eyes as the smoke around them slowly cleared. Through the thinning smoke they could see a few of the people around them doing the same thing. After a quick headcount a cold feeling started to settle in the bottom of Kaiba's stomach, settling in the pit and lodging there in a way that wouldn't be easy to get out.

"Naru! Where's Naru?" Meimei's voice grew to a shriek as she, too, noticed who was missing from their small group.

"Come on, let's go find Kenichi, Bara, and the others for some help," Kaiba said, his voice raising a little in his growing panic.

They started off in a run, heading towards the siblings' home, and Naruto's apartment.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he made his way to the grocery store that was situated almost across the street from his apartment complex. If they were going to be leaving in the next day or so they were going to need supplies for the road. Two weeks of camping out required dried foods, water supplies, soup mixes, and jerky that could be supplemented with hunted game and fruits and vegetables bought along the way in small villages. 

Naruto blinked as he exited the grocers and the sound of running feet started heading in his direction, slowing when Bara and Kaiba came into sight.

"Where's the fire?"

The two were too winded to give him more than a quick glare before they could spill the news.

"Naru's been kidnapped!"

Naruto's blue eyes widened, "What do you mean she's been kidnapped?"

Kaiba clenched his fists and angrily ground out the story, "She was kidnapped when a large man bristling with scrolls and carrying a large sword managed to make a huge cloud of smoke. He took her when we were trying to get the smoke to clear."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he considered their description of the man who had taken Naru. It sounded suspiciously like a ninja, and if it was a ninja, then they were going to have a few more problems than originally anticipated.

"Naruto-" Kaiba's voice trailed off as he turned again to where Naruto had been standing, only to be greeted with a small cloud of dust that proved Naruto had been there at all.

Naruto appeared in the apartment with a small cloud of dust still clinging to his clothes. Gaara looked up from the large pile of papers littered across their small kitchen table, his eyes tracking the back and forth momentum of his partner's pacing that had picked up after he had dropped the food in their kitchen.

"They've taken a girl from the village. They've taken Naru," Naruto said, a snarl creeping into his voice. "We need to attack tonight, before they take more."

"Tonight then," Gaara said, a grin crawling across his face. "Too late, it's already here."

Naruto shuddered at the look that had come upon his partner's usually stoic face. He knew that Gaara had struck a deal with his demon, literally, but there were times when he doubted the deal's validity. There was something about seeing his partner go from someone completely in control to someone smiling like a homicidal maniac (like his partner used to be, and still somewhat was) who most likely was not going to go easy on the enemy.

"Meet me on the ridge, I'm going to take care of Bara and Kaiba and keep them from getting in our way," Naruto said, before disappearing again, leaving Gaara behind to pack away the scrolls, papers, and pictures littering their tabletop.

Naruto appeared in front of Kaiba just as the other boy was going to lead Bara into the apartment complex, making the duo jump.

"Where did you go?" Kaiba snapped, frustration taking over. "This is serious, not a game!"

"I know that. I just explained the situation to my partner. We're going to go look on our own while you guys continue what you were doing," Naruto said, holding his hand up to block any of Bara's protests.

"Who do you think you are? You can't just go out and find her, she was kidnapped! This isn't like looking for a lost pet. I don't know how you deal with this where ever you came from, but that isn't how we do things around here," Kaiba yelled, his dark eyes narrowing.

"You know how we take care of things like this where I come from? We hire shinobi! We let people who know what to do take care of things like this!" Naruto snapped, moving closer to the taller boy and glaring up.

"We don't have any shinobi here," Kaiba growled back, glaring down at the shorter boy.

"Then find some, or leave Gaara and me to our searching," Naruto growled back, until the taller boy backed down.

"Fine, we'll leave you to your searching," Bara said, looking a little worried about the confrontation going on between the two boys. "But we're worried about our friend."

"There isn't really anything that any of us can do except look," Naruto said calmly after sighing. "We're all going to be doing what we can."

"Fine," Kaiba said after letting out a deep breath. "We'll meet up with you later and see if anyone has found anything."

"Fine," Naruto said, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to make it.

* * *

Naruto appeared in a swirl of dust next to his partner on top of the ridge overlooking the bustling warehouse district. Floodlights illuminated the whole district and the surrounding woods that bordered the valley. Discretion had been thrown out the window a few weeks ago as the sheer volume of people going in and out became almost impossible to keep under wraps, so the enemy had given up. 

"We go down together, then split up," Gaara said as they looked over the valley below.

"One to the main system control room, and one to free the hostages?" Naruto asked.

"One to the main system control, then to the actual assassination, and one to free the hostages," Gaara answered.

Naruto nodded and they disappeared from the ridge, jumping easily from branch to branch and rock to rock with controlled bursts of chakra at their hands and feet. They landed on the valley floor silently, unnoticed by the various guards patrolling the perimeter of the spill of light and a few feet into the darkness. They guard pattern was one of a few guards moving over small parts of the perimeter in a back and forth motion.

The closest four guards were dispatched in a matter of seconds before the two shinobi regrouped in the deep shadows on the edge of the light. There was a momentary pause before they moved again, streaking across the open ground and through the gates, leaving a wake of downed guards and hired thugs behind them as they made it through the gates without a problem.

Once inside the gates it was a short step to actually get into the warehouses and the short stretches of hall that connected them. Dodging guards was easy, as was getting into the buildings, but once inside they were faced with the obstacles of heightened security and cameras stationed in the ceiling and in the corners of the walls. Sand flew out from Gaara's gourd, covering, then constricting around the cameras until they broke, clogging the alarm systems, and traveling down the electrical wires until every camera in the warehouse along the way to the main system control room was short circuited or broken.

"The kidnapped girls are in the building adjacent to us, near the back," Gaara said as some of the sand returned to him, lazily swirling around his body and parts of Naruto.

The blonde boy shot a wary look at the sand before nodding to his partner and streaking away down the side corridor that led to the nearest attached warehouse. Gaara waited until his partner's footsteps had faded before calling all of his excess sand back to him. With closed eyes he waited until he could feel every stray particle swirling around his form with growing excitement, tracing spiraling patterns in the air.

His darkly ringed eyes opened with a snap as he started forward, walking down the hall and heading towards his destination. Some had seen him and Naruto enter the building and had alerted everyone to their presence. Anyone without an important position was filing into the warehouse, standing ahead of Gaara to form a defense that was supposed to be overwhelming.

Sand was still trickling out of the gourd as it became increasingly fuzzy around the edges, swirling until it obscured his form. Gaara continued down the main corridor until the warehouse stretched overhead as walkways spanned the expanse, more sand escaping to swirl in agitation with each step forward he took, each particle vibrating with anticipation.

"Hey, you! Get your punk ass out of here before we have to shoot you!"

Green eyes turned slowly until they lit upon a single thug in the throng clustered in the increasingly sandy walkway. Compared to Gaara the thug was huge, muscled and towering in height, but also compared to the crimson-haired boy heading his way, he and his friends were already as good as dead.

Sand rushed forward in a wave as Gaara continued walking, obscuring the way ahead as it took out any and all of the obstacles in his path, living or otherwise. Bodyguards, thugs, and other hired help rushed forward to meet the swirling wave of sand, only to be knocked back and left strewn across the floor, bloodless and dead in the wake of Gaara's monster.

Naruto's steps echoed down emptying hallways as he avoided the district's defenders as they left their posts to try to fend off the horror moving down the main corridor. With his chakra enhanced senses he quickly found where the kidnapped victims were being held behind a re-enforced door. It was taking him longer than expected to navigate the warehouse with all of its defenders and still working cameras. Even if the alarm system wouldn't work there could still be someone watching the video feeds, and he didn't want to give his objective away when Gaara was giving the perfect distraction.

Luckily the door wasn't watched by camera, so he was able to insert a small, concentrated blade of chakra into the lock, destroying it before he slid the blade down the door jam destroying the bolt as well. He could hear some scuffling and movement as he started opening the door, as well as a few cries as light flooded into the room, illuminating the forms that had previously been hidden in shadow.

"I'm here to help you escape," Naruto's voice was calm, soothing as soon as he heard the cries that came with the illumination of his face.

"You're here to hurt us!"

There were a few other screams as Naruto pushed the door completely open, ignoring the whimpers as pupils contracted. There was no good way to go about this, so Naruto started with what he knew.

"Is there a Naru here?" he asked, searching through the scared faces for her familiar one.

"What do you want with her? She just got here, and she's already beat up."

An older girl stood up in the back, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at the short blonde boy bristling with weapons. Her long, light brown hair was scraggly and her face was smudged with dirt, but she was still standing strong.

"I'm here to help you escape, to rescue you, not to hurt you," Naruto said calmly, keeping his hands loosely at his sides in the most unthreatening way he could think of.

"How do we know that? How do we know that you aren't just someone hired to hurt us some more?" the girl snapped, her eyes blazing.

"Because if I was I wouldn't have bothered to completely destroy the lock on the door," Naruto said.

"Fine," the girl said, wilting almost visibly. "She's here, and rather beat up."

"Thanks," Naruto said, making his way through a crowd of people who shied away from him at almost every step.

Naru was lying on the ground, out cold, with bruises starting to blossom upon her cheek and the part of her upper arms that Naruto could see. He bent down slowly until he was crouching over her and gently ran a hand over her face, skirting the bruises that he could see until she stirred. Her eyes blinked up at him groggily for a moment until she remembered where she was a freaked, flailing away from him and scooting back until she hit the wall.

"Stay away!" her voice was cracking, high pitched from fear.

"Naru. Naru!" Naruto moved so quickly that most of the girls couldn't register his hands moving until he grabbed Naru's wrists and held her arms so that she couldn't hurt herself. "Naru, it's me, Naruto. You need to calm down so that we can get out of here."

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, Naruto," Naruto whispered, letting go of her hands as soon as she seemed calm enough not to lash out at him.

"What is going on?" she asked, lunging into Naruto's arms and curling into a ball. "When can we leave?"

"You were kidnapped, and we are leaving now," Naruto said, picking her up in his arms before turning to the rest of the people in the room. "We're all leaving. Follow me, even if you have to carry someone else out. We need to leave now."

"How can we trust you? You have weapons, and you're carrying someone out, and you are powerful enough to destroy a re-enforced door," the girl was still nervous, her eyes showing their whites as she watched him stand easily under Naru's mostly dead weight.

"Because my partner and I were hired to take this operation down," Naruto snapped, looking around at the cowering teens. "We aren't here to hurt you."

"You and the tattooed thug? Like we'll believe that," the girl snapped, taking a few steps forward until even she towered over the blonde.

"No, my partner is a short red head with a bunch of sand," Naruto said, starting to get a little worried. Another ninja was not a good thing, especially if Gaara was left alone to fight virtually the whole compound.

"He's right. There's always an insomniac red head with him," Naru said weakly, raising her head to defend Naruto and Gaara.

"We need to leave, now. Who knows what my partner may be getting himself into," Naruto said, striding forward through the crowd. "All of you need to come with me if you would like to leave."

* * *

Gaara smirked as the last of the defense fell beneath his sand, strewn across the floor behind him. He let most of the sand drop away as he prepared to enter the system control room, letting it pool on the floor behind him. Something flashed in the corner of his eye and he jumped back, landing a good ten feet back from the door as his sand sped to his defense. 

A large sword was vibrating from where it had stuck into the ground from the force of its impact. Gaara looked up to see a large man striding towards him, a smirk on his face as he looked at his short, sandy opponent.

"Good job with the hired help," the man's voice was amused as he looked over the results of Gaara's handiwork.

The bloody-haired boy was silent as he regarded his opponent, sand swirling loosely around his form instead of packing itself tightly around him in his shield of sand. The man sighed and shook his head at the boy in front of him, humor still coloring his actions.

"Quiet, eh? No matter. I still have the task of taking care of anyone who gets this far," he shrugged, still watching Gaara as he pulled his sword from where it had stuck in the floor. "Ready or not."

Gaara ducked the first two kunai, and his sand swept in front of him to take care of the following shuriken and kunai aimed at where his opponent thought his head might end up. From his crouched position Gaara molded a few seals, releasing them to watch his sand condense into two forms and a barrage of shuriken aimed at the large man who was holding his sword in a sideways block across his body.

A quick swipe of the large sword blocked most of the shuriken and took out two of the suna bunshin as he brought the sword back to its original position. Gaara smirked as he sent some sand swirling up the man's legs, practically gluing the other shinobi to the floor. The tattooed ninja growled before using a large burst of chakra to expel most of the sand from his body, sending it flying back into Gaara's shield.

Running footsteps paused their fight as a well-dressed man appeared from a side hall, his face red from anger. The tattooed ninja sighed, keeping his sword up in case Gaara decided to attack.

"What are you doing playing with a little kid? We are having a break out while you sit here goofing off!" the well-dressed man started yelling at the tattooed ninja, ignoring the way the larger man's eyes narrowed and the swirling of Gaara's sand.

"This little kid just killed your whole defense for the complex," the tattooed ninja replied, keeping tabs on his anger.

"No he didn't," the man snapped back before finally looking beyond Gaara then paling at the sight of his whole defense downed by a red-haired boy.

"You! You can't just come in here and destroy everything! You're ruining my whole operation!" the man shouted, pointing at Gaara and gesturing angrily in his direction before turning back to his ninja. "And you! It's your job to take care of this!"

Gaara watched as the two continued their conversation, condensing his sand around him as he prepared his ultimate attack. It really was a little bit of overkill for the situation, but he was sick of playing around with these people and this facility, and he could feel Naruto's chakra moving out of range followed by a small host of little chakras following along behind him. He grinned as light seeped away as a solid sphere of sand encased him while his opponents were distracted, giving him time to work his jutsu. If the tattooed ninja hadn't been so incompetent this wouldn't have been allowed, but Gaara hadn't fought an actual challenge in months. This guy had just forgotten the first rule of any fight: don't let your guard down.

"Tanuki neiri no jutsu," he whispered, his grin stretching, elongating as sand encased him in fine grains.

* * *

Naruto looked back at the dull roaring sound that was coming from the warehouse district sprawled out behind their group. He was carrying Naru in his arms with the rescued teens clustered behind him, the stronger helping the weaker to get away as they climbed one of the easier slopes that led up to the ridge. The group behind him turned too, and there were a few screams as a huge appendage of sand burst through the roof of the main warehouse as a form stretched until most of it was able to move. 

"Shit," Naruto whispered as he watched Shukaku's form burst through the metal roof of the warehouse as if he were rising through water.

"We need to keep going, quickly!" he called as the group came to a halt.

While urging them forward he risked a look back at the looming shape that was happily destroying everything within range of its limbs. As the group climbed higher they left the warehouse district and the rampaging demon behind, heading closer to the village where the group would be able to find their separate ways home in the weeks to come.

Gaara watched from his place on Shukaku's head as the demon moved away from the squashed ninja and target and happily started destroying the surrounding buildings as well. Now, unlike when he was younger, he was able to retain most of his sanity when the demon was rampaging, making it easier to call the demon back when needed. It didn't take long for the demon to get bored, leaving Gaara no choice but to reign Shukaku in when the demon started to entertain thoughts about heading towards the village.

_You've had your fun for the night,_ he mentally chastised, frowning as he floated gently into the destruction on a cushion of sand.

**Only because of the blood am I allowing this to be easy,** was Shukaku's parting shot as he allowed himself to spiral back into his small host.

Gaara stood amidst the wreckage long enough for his gourd to reform before disappearing in a swirl of sand and ninja smoke.

* * *

When Kaiba and Bara checked in at the apartment shared by Naruto and Gaara the next morning they found only a note left on the small kitchen table. The apartment was devoid of any signs that would have suggested either boy had ever been there, even though the whole village had seen the blonde leading the group of kidnapped youths back into the village before disappearing in a puff of smoke, and never reappearing again. He and Gaara just disappeared into thin air, the way shinobi were supposed to, by blending into the shadows. 

**TBC **

A/N: Thanks for waiting so long. I know that this took forever to get out, so, sorry for taking so long. Hope you liked it, and thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 05! And as always, thanks to Asteroid Blues for beta-ing.


	8. Chapter 07: Menage a Trois avec Rose

Disclaimer: See previous chapter.

Notes: A/U, spoilers, etc. It will merge with the canon, later.

**Human Nature**  
By: TF  
Beta: Asteroid Blues

**Chapter 07: Menagè à Trois avec Rose  
**(Threesome with Pink)

Sand whipped around the group of bandits, sending them face first into the ground as they tried to escape the grains that were rubbing their skin raw. A few shouted and scrambled, only to be confronted by a six-legged creature that creaked and groaned before breaking into a wave of motion that swept over those who had broken cover. They tried to get back, but were cut to pieces before they had taken three steps, sending a shower of blood into the wind, whipping it high into the air.

As the wind died down the remaining bandits peered around the edge of the outcropping that shielded them, looking down onto the patch of chunky red that had been their literal partners in crime. One whimpered, then staggered a few paces to empty his stomach while the blood drained from their faces. Once again the wind whipped up around them, trapping them each in their own little cyclone that was slowly grounding them down, despite their upraised hands and weapons.

Two forms appeared next to the multi-legged monster, the wind obediently dying down, dropping the swirling sand at their feet. The fan-wielder snapped her fan closed, dropping the sand around the bandits as blood slowly started to ooze from their numerous scrapes. One shuddered, then dropped to the ground, blood squirting from the jugular vein that the shuriken had pierced.

The fan-wielder smiled nastily and snapped her huge fan open, spinning around in a complicated maneuver that sent crescent blades of wind slicing through half of the bandits before she'd even completed her turn. Her partner twitched his fingers, sending the wood and metal monster slamming forward into the bandits in a spray of blood and gore that was spread over the area in a fine crimson mist.

"This isn't as fun without Gaara to herd them," Temari remarked as she snapped her fan closed and watched the bloody mist settle with bored eyes.

"That's only because your attacks can mow down a small forest with one swing. Your technique doesn't take the concentration needed to make a hunt more eventful," Kankuro commented, ignoring the glare that Temari sent his way at the slight to her fighting style.

"Gather up your toys so that we can leave," Temari snapped, smirking when her brother flipped her off.

"Watch it, or my toy may find its way into your accessories. Then it will be bye bye make-up and jewelry," Kankuro replied, carefully wrapping his puppet before hoisting it onto his back much like Temari had done with her fan.

"My make-up? What about that crap you smear all over your face? As if you can keep your day and night looks separate."

Kankuro snarled at his sister as she laughed and dodged away, taking the time to actually throw a knife in her direction when she started giving him tips on how to accentuate his eyes and shape his mouth. She laughed and retrieved the weapon with a smirk from where it had buried itself in the sand and spun in around one of her long fingers for the duration of the trip home as their conversation moved from idle banter.

Bandit missions were assigned more frequently in Suna than in any other hidden village due to the open land and lack of water for miles between the small number of villages and cities dotted across the desert. Between small, unorganized bandit raids, and the larger nomadic clans there were always plenty of missions available for any shinobi who needed some extra income.

The siblings were home before the sun had dropped below the horizon, giving them enough time to catch dinner before most of the shops closed for the night. Once home they separated to opposite ends of the small house to shower, clean weapons, and do the other small things that needed to be done after a mission, even a short, straightforward mission like they'd completed. Afterwards both found themselves in the living area of the small house, idly searching for something to do before the night got on its way and they separated until morning.

"You know, it's still odd without Gaara in the house, even if the amount of sand still hasn't diminished," Temari commented, looking around their sparsely furnished home.

"Yeah. It's been a few months and I still expect to see him raiding the cabinets for something to eat after his late night excursions," Kankuro said, looking anywhere except at his sister.

"Well, I'm going out," Temari said after a moment of silence. They'd said those two lines, or some variation thereof, too many times to count in the last few months. She smirked as she looked over her shoulder, calling out to Kankuro as she dodged the kunai thrown at her head, "Have fun playing with your toys, fatty! Don't stay up past your bedtime."

The puppeteer glared until he couldn't hear his sister's light footsteps outside. With a sigh he turned to the materials piled near the couch and the two puppets that were in need of repair. It wasn't going to be a long night until Temari returned in a few hours with a few excess drinks in her stomach. Until then he was going to enjoy a night free of insults and her snide comments. Really, how did Shikamaru put up with her company on a regular basis as well as that mouthy blonde?

* * *

Naruto groaned as he and Gaara were herded towards the Yamanaka flower shop by Sakura. First of all, it was lunch time, and Naruto really should have been eating, and secondly, it was flowers, and as a guy, he didn't do flowers. Naruto was pretty sure that Gaara didn't do flowers either, but Sakura hadn't cared when he'd voiced that either.

"Why are we doing this again?" Naruto whined, looking around for any avenue of escape.

"Because Ino requested help, and you two weren't doing anything anyway. Think of this as some odd mission that involves you to actually socialize with girls, instead of just eyeing them," Sakura said, keeping a close eye on the wayward blonde.

"What about Gaara, doesn't he have a say?" Naruto asked, gesturing towards his partner.

"Both of us know that Gaara doesn't do anything he doesn't want to," Sakura said, nodding to the red head when he glanced away from the crowd and towards her.

"That's not fair," Naruto whined, glaring at his partner for a moment before Gaara returned the look and raised an eyebrow. "Totally not fair."

"Get over it," Sakura snapped as she climbed the steps in front of the shop.

"Forehead-girl, I see you've brought some help," Ino smirked as she opened the green shop door.

"Forced, not brought. We were forced," Naruto muttered, only to be ignored by both girls.

"Naruto will help, I'm not too sure about Gaara. He does what he wants," Sakura said as she followed Ino through the door, a glance over her shoulder insuring that Naruto followed her example.

"That's okay. I only really need help with some of the larger deliveries. Both of my parents are occupied with other things today, so I'm left to man the shop," Ino replied as the led the trio into the humidity of the shop.

At the cloying smell of flowers Naruto wrinkled his sensitive nose and looked over to Gaara whose face was painfully blank. Naruto wasn't sure why the other boy had allowed himself to be led around the village, and into a flower shop of all places, but Gaara was a variable of his own, one that Naruto knew he would never figure out.

"Here's the list of addresses and which arrangements are to be delivered," Ino hadn't stopped talking during Naruto's lapse in attention.

Sakura took the offered list and looked it over for a moment before handing it back to Naruto, "We can handle that without a problem. Just tell us which arrangement is which and we'll get the job done."

"Thanks, Sakura. You're a real lifesaver. I couldn't find Shikamaru or Chouji anywhere," Ino said, smiling brightly at her pink-haired friend and her companions.

"It isn't a problem. You know that I'll always help you when you need it," Sakura said, shaking her head at Ino's relief.

Naruto and Sakura split the addresses up, electing to leave Gaara to his own devices as the Sand shinobi preferred. With a groan Naruto picked up his first vase and arrangement and left the small shop to enter the bustling market crowd, Gaara tailing him by a few feet. It wasn't that Naruto minded helping Ino, it was helping Ino with flowers. He growled lightly, Shikamaru's lazy habits were really annoying when he had to pick of the bum's slack.

As Naruto walked the streets of Konoha oblivious to the looks he was receiving, his partner was painfully aware of the attention they were drawing. Sand shifted ominously in his gourd, some seeping out to swirl around his feet in agitation as he glared at anyone who would meet his eyes, sending most of the crowd a few steps back. By the time he and Naruto had started their third delivery there was a small sphere around them where people avoided walking close.

"You get used to the looks and the comments after a while," Naruto commented after he caught Gaara giving the rest of the crowd a look that promised death on a whim.

Gaara looked at his partner and raised one almost nonexistent eyebrow before resuming his annoyed look while trailing the blonde. Naruto sighed and shook his head. If Gaara wanted to walk around and purposely scare the crap out of people, then that was his problem. Not that Naruto hadn't thought about doing the same thing more frequently than he liked to admit.

* * *

Shikamaru knew that hiding from Ino was going to have consequences, it always did. Every time that he'd hidden from Ino since they'd been small children she had always found a way to make his life hell after she found him. So his usual plan was to stay as far away from her as he could until she'd calmed down, which meant avoiding her for a few days. Chouji was lucky, he was actually doing some intense training in his family compound, Shikamaru, on the other hand, was just avoiding his female teammate.

It really wasn't safe to be venturing from the deer paddock so soon, but he was hungry, and he hadn't eaten all day. The noodle stand was rather obvious, but it was cheap, and he would only have problems if Naruto showed up. For some reason the blonde was always forced to do Ino's bidding whenever he couldn't be found, which led to Gaara trailing his partner through the streets and scaring most of Konoha's civilian and some of the ninja population.

So, Ichiraku probably wasn't the smartest place to go, but it had the cheapest food in the area. He should have expected it when Naruto loomed —or leaned, Naruto wasn't exactly a giant next to anyone—over his shoulder, and he definitely should have expected it when Naruto started yelling at the top of his lungs.

Shikamaru sighed and frowned up at the ranting blonde, eyes slit with irritation as one of Naruto's wildly gesturing hands whacked him on the back of the head. By turning he was able to see Gaara standing a few feet away, sand idly moving around his legs as he smirked. Shikamaru sighed before hunching back over his food, letting Naruto rant until he started repeating himself. Why did Ino always have to get Naruto to help her? No one else uncannily tracked him down afterwards.

"Naruto. Ramen."

The lazy jounin shook his head at how easily his attacker was sidetracked by his stomach. Quietly he finished his food and tried to slip away, only to find himself lightly encased in sand up to his knees, a silent warning to stay where he was until Naruto was ready to deal with him again.

"That was sneaky, Shikamaru. And again I was forced to help Ino by doing your job," Naruto admonished in between bites of noodles.

"If you were forced to help a harpy like her daily you wouldn't stick around either," Shikamaru replied, looking for any avenue of escape.

"I am, my harpy just has pink hair or huge boobs," Naruto replied, laughing when Shikamaru let his head fall to hit the bar of the stand.

"_What_ were you saying?"

Naruto's eyes were comically large as he turned to see Sakura standing over him, hands on her hips as she watched him with a feral gleam in her eyes. Shikamaru groaned and tried to move his feet only to find them still encased in sand. Sakura shot a glance at Gaara who was standing in a corner of the stand arms crossed over his chest as he stood out of the way of Sakura's wrath.

"I wasn't saying anything Sakura," Naruto protested, working hard on appearing innocent and failing.

"And Shikamaru, you wouldn't be saying anything either, would you?" Sakura asked, eyeing the brunette boy with a predatory gleam in her eye.

"No," Shikamaru answered sullenly, testing his legs a few times before coming to the conclusion that short of knocking Gaara out he wasn't going to escape.

"Good, just what I wanted to hear. Oh, and Shikamaru," Sakura turned from where she had started to loom over Naruto to give the brunette a victorious look, "Ino's looking for you. You might want to talk to her before I tell her where to find you."

Shikamaru sighed and muttered a bothersome before he felt the sand around his legs sliding away. After glaring at the unconcerned red head he got up, stretched his legs, shoved his hands in his pockets and left. As soon as Shikamaru's hunched form had disappeared from view Sakura sighed and slumped into his vacant seat under the wary eyes of Naruto.

"You need to be more aware of your surroundings Naruto. Tsunade-sama could have come up behind you and heard that comment and knocked you into the next country," Sakura admonished, smiling at Naruto's sheepish look.

"Nah, Tsunade-baba loves me too much to do that," Naruto said, smiling brightly back at Sakura.

"Then why are you always bruised when you come out of her office?"

"Umm."

"Because he opens his big mouth and blurts out something stupid," Gaara said from his corner, causing both to look at him.

Naruto raised his hands in question and Gaara shrugged, causing Sakura to burst into laughter as Naruto started pouting. The blonde finished his noodles while Sakura was still laughing at him, then ordered another round of noodles for the both of them, Gaara choosing not to eat at the ramen stand.

"Tsunade wants to meet us later this afternoon," Sakura said after she'd finshed her lunch.

They were all still in the stand, leaning against the bar as they watched people walk by outside the hanging cloth that separated them from the street. At her statement both boys looked at her, then looked at each other in confusion.

"Me, Gaara, or both of us?" Naruto asked, looking between his partner and old teammate as Gaara's face went blank again.

"All of us, me, you and Gaara," Sakura replied.

She sighed and hopped to her feet, turning to face the two boys again, "She said that we were to meet her at four, so please try not to be late."

Naruto looked up at Gaara after Sakura had left, trying to judge what his partner was feeling and failing. Gaara was looking as stoic as Naruto had seen him since they'd gotten back from their last mission. With a shrug Naruto got up, dropped a small pile of bills on the counter to cover his meal and Sakura's, and led Gaara out into the crowd so that they could find an abandoned training field to train in.

* * *

Tsunade sighed as she flipped through yet another folder from the pile on her desk, trying to figure out what exactly needed her signature. Most of the pile was paperwork that needed her signature, papers needed to keep Konoha up and running, nothing more. Only a few of the folders and scrolls actually contained important information concerning scouting reports, treaties, important incoming missions, and spy reports that slowly filtered in from their spies spread across the countries close to them. There were a few spies scattered across the rest of the mainland, but their reports were few and infrequent due to the lack of trustworthy couriers and sometimes the sheer distance between the spy and Konoha.

"I'm surprised to see you actually doing paperwork," Jiraiya commented from the open doorway, shutting the heavy doors behind him as he came in and sat down on the other side of Tsunade's desk.

"Shizune's overworked as it is, and we don't have enough people with the authority to sign these available right now, so I'm stuck pushing papers instead of dealing with important matters," Tsunade said, dropping the signed file into the growing stack of folders sitting in the crate on the side of her desk.

"And yet you've called me here to talk about the brat and his homicidal partner," Jiraiya commented, leaning back comfortably.

"They need to be in a normal three man team instead of just running around on their own. That worked in the beginning, but now we need to have them working with someone else as well. There needs to be someone to counteract their head on tactics," Tsunade said, quickly signing another form and dropping it too into the crate.

"Who were you thinking? Most of the other chuunin their age are already on a team or working elsewhere," Jiraiya said.

The door opened and they both looked over to see Kakashi entering the office. Tsunade waved him in and he took a seat in one of the empty chairs, his back to one of the room's four walls.

"Now that Kakashi has joined us, we can get a better idea of the shinobi who would be compatible with Naruto and Gaara," Tsunade said, ignoring the incredulous look Kakashi sent her way before rolling his visible eye.

Jiraiya eyed the masked shinobi for a moment before concentrating on the task at hand. "What about Sakura? She doesn't have a team, and she can get along with the both of them easily enough."

"I do have her coming in at four with the boys, so Sakura is a possibility," Tsunade said, still working her way through the pile of papers.

"Sakura would be my first choice. Anyone else that Gaara would tolerate already has a team, and I'm hesitant to place him with anyone new, especially combined with the reputation of Naruto," Kakashi said, pulling out his book, but leaving it overturned on one of his knees.

"Gaara is the wildcard in this situation," Tsunade said with a sigh.

"I'm still not sure that allowing this boy on high ranking missions with Naruto is a good idea," Jiraiya said, leaning forward and frowning. "I wasn't here during the initial commotion, or during this boy's placement, but I still have reservations."

"Gaara and Naruto have been doing fine. There have been very few commotions between the two of them, and most of the complaints have been from villagers or Naruto's landlord who hates Naruto anyway," Kakashi said, still keeping a hold on his book as he watched the other two in the room.

"You put an already violate and irritable ninja into close quarters with Naruto, who has enough problems on his own, and just because nothing bad has happened you want to add another person to the team. I don't approve, but," his tirade wilted at Tsunade's look, "if you're set on this, then I can still only suggest Sakura. I don't know many of the younger generation, and most of the people Naruto talked about already have teams."

"Sakura has always managed to cow Naruto pretty well. If anyone can keep him in line she can. I've also found her in the company of both Naruto and Gaara and there were no problems between the three of them," Kakashi added.

"That's because both Naruto and Sakura pretty much let Gaara do what he will as long as no damage is done," Tsunade said, slamming a folder onto the desk in front of her as she looked over it at the two men. "We seem to be stuck on Sakura. Can anyone think of anyone else?"

"I would suggest Rock Lee, or Nara Shikamaru, but they both are on active teams," Kakashi stated, starting to sneak his book up to his face so that he could watch the exchange between Jiraiya and Tsunade covertly, but a look from Tsunade stopped him.

"They are both on teams that work smoothly, we aren't going to break them up. So, I guess we're settled on Sakura," Tsunade said with a sigh. "You can both go."

"Oh, and Jiraiya," Tsunade's voice caught him on the way out, "we'll discuss these arrangements later. For now they're working and they're not changing. Until we have a problem things _will_ be left as they are."

Jiraiya frowned, but nodded before disappearing through the heavy doors, letting them swing closed behind his larger frame. Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before opening them, letting the breath out, and continuing with the ever-towering pile of papers.

* * *

If there were ten things not to do or say in front of a woman, Shikamaru had done all of them in five minutes of talking to Ino after lunch. Chouji had managed to catch the end of the conversation and had barely managed to dodge the kunai that had cut a nice shallow line across Shikamaru's cheek. The blonde was just lucky that he was able to duck as well as he had.

They had retired to one of the more secluded training grounds so that Shikamaru could lick his wounds in peace. Chouji had trailed behind his muttering friend uncertainly, keeping a little distance between himself and the jounin in case the other boy decided to lash out. Not that Shikamaru was prone to outbursts, but the brunette was never really normal after one of his fights with Ino.

Chouji was about to ask what exactly had started the one-sided yelling match when Naruto's distinctive voice rang out over the training field. With a sigh he stood up and moved to head off the other blonde who was most likely to be followed by Gaara. Gaara still creeped him out, despite the alliance between Sand and Leaf and Gaara's apparent change of heart.

"Chouji," Naruto said when he and Gaara came into sight.

"Naruto, Gaara," Chouji said, keeping a wary eye on the red head.

"We came by to see how Shikamaru is doing. I caught part of the conversation between Sakura and Ino and it didn't sound pretty," Naruto winced in sympathy as Gaara rolled his eyes.

"He made her mad again, and she chucked a kunai at him. She nicked him on the cheek pretty well. We figured that this would be the last place she'd look if she tried hunting him down like she normally does after they fight," Chouji said.

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I don't know how much you can help, but there's almost no way to make things worse," Chouji said with a shrug before turning and heading back to where his friend and teammate was sitting and licking his wounds.

Chouji led them back to where Shikamaru was sitting on one of the logs, keeping an eye on Gaara for anything suspicious the whole time they were walking. He didn't trust the other boy after the attack by the Sand, even if the red head had shown up to help against the Sound Four after he had been knocked out. Even the other boy's aura was off, sending off vibes that made him shiver and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Just being in the other boy's general vicinity was nerve wracking. Chouji didn't understand how Shikamaru or Naruto could spend so much of their time with the raccoon-eyed boy.

"I see that you've come to jeer," Shikamaru said, looking at the cloth he was using to dab his cut, trying to get the blood to clot a little quicker.

"Nah, that's too easy. We've come to see if you'd like help or advice. Not that I'm that great with girls either," Naruto said, taking a seat on the ground near Shikamaru.

"What advice do you have? It isn't like there's any way she won't be mad at me for the next week," Shikamaru muttered, glaring at the cloth when it continued to come away with blood.

"Maybe you should stop hiding from her. She wouldn't get so mad then," Chouji said helpfully.

"Why don't you stop eating when she nags at you? It's the same thing. She finds something that she dislikes and then she picks at you and picks at you until there's nothing you can do except hide," Shikamaru snapped, smashing the cloth back against his face hard enough that there was a sound from where his hand hit his cheek. "In sixteen years neither of us have stood up to her, and it seems like we never will."

"That's a little harsh," Naruto said, wincing when Shikamaru glared at him.

"Sakura is the same way, and Temari. I think all girls are just tyrants waiting to be set loose," Shikamaru growled, looking at the cloth again in disgust.

"Temari's worse," Gaara said, ignoring the surprised looks he was getting from the others.

"I'm an only child, I wouldn't know. All of the girls in my clan are nice to me, especially now that I'm going to be thin forever," Chouji said, idly poking his stomach where he used to be larger.

"Everybody hated me when I was little, I wouldn't know. Sakura can be nice at times, but then she hits me, and Tsunade-baba is a gambling drunk," Naruto added, blinking at the looks he received. "What? She is. Where do you think we found her? In a bar after she was done gambling for the day."

Shikamaru shook his head, "I'm tired of playing these troublesome games with that girl. She's either happy or she's not, and she's mostly not."

"Give her a present."

All three boys looked at Gaara as if he'd grown an extra head. He glared back, sand shifting ominously until they looked away.

"A present? Like a festival present, or jewelry, or what? And why? It's not like she'd talk to me now anyway. How bothersome," Shikamaru muttered, taking the cloth away from his face again, satisfied that his scratch wasn't bleeding anymore.

"Barrettes, or hair things," Gaara said, sitting down and ignoring the odd looks he was receiving.

"How do you know this?" Chouji asked, frowning at the red head.

"Temari."

"Temari?" Shikamaru asked. "Temari likes hair things?"

"Presents," Gaara said, rolling his eyes when they continued to give him odd looks. "She gets mad at a boy and they give her presents. She likes hair things the best, but candy does just as well."

"How do you know this?" Naruto asked, storing away these ideas for later use when he upset Sakura next.

"Because I'm not an idiot."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!"

"It means that you're stupid along with the rest of us because we don't pay attention," Shikamaru said, ignoring Naruto's indignant look.

"You think it'll work? You may have to dodge more weapons," Chouji said, watching his friend closely as the brunette sighed and looked at the ground.

"I'm ready this time. Besides, she can't make herself any more trouble than she already has. Sheesh, what a pain," Shikamaru muttered as he got up. "Here goes nothing but trouble."

* * *

Anko stepped away from the dango stand, happily carrying her food as she searched for Genma. The light-haired jounin had found them somewhere to sit and eat their separate lunches, she just wasn't sure where. She was about to give up and terrorize a few of the chuunin exam applicants while eating dango, but Genma's raised hand turned her away from the chaotic bustling of the midday lunch rush.

"This new bunch of applicants are crap," Anko said after picking through the pile of applicant forms that had been turned in early.

"They aren't any worse than they've been in previous tests," Genma said, idly twitching the senbon needle hanging from his lips with his tongue.

"Which means that this time they aren't even crap with potential. Shit, the next generation is screwing us over already and they haven't even done anything," Anko muttered, pushing the papers aside so that she could hit her head on the table.

"Oh, come on Anko. Give them a bit of a break. Some of them have improved from the last test," Genma said, watching the dark-haired woman moan and groan. "Just because the ones with the greatest potential have already become chuunin doesn't mean that there won't be any surprises."

"Shit. I'm almost tempted to let Naruto eat a few pounds of sugar before letting him loose in the Forest of Death along with that sand wielding psycho partner of his," Anko said, leaning back in her chair.

Genma shuddered at the idea and blinked rapidly for a few moments before finding his voice, "That was probably the most traumatizing idea for everyone that you could possibly come up with, wasn't it?"

"That was the idea," Anko's grin verged upon malicious as she watched the other jounin's face pale.

"I'm afraid for everyone involved now," Genma muttered, making Anko laugh for a moment.

"On another note, what have you heard from the border patrols?" Anko asked, leaning forward with a frown.

"Nothing, which makes me suspicious," Genma said, rolling his senbon between his lips some more as he too frowned.

"Orochimaru is still out there. I'm sure he's up to something, but I'm not sure what. My problem is the Uchiha boy," Anko said, absent-mindedly rubbing the botched seal on her neck.

"Hasn't he taken over the boy's body yet?" Genma asked, watching Anko as she sighed, still rubbing her neck.

"No, which is odd. I'd know if he switched bodies again, I always know due to this damn thing, but he hasn't. I don't know what's going on in the Sound, but it can't be anything good," Anko frowned, then sighed and picked up the pile of applications again.

"We'll deal with whatever they throw at us," Genma said, picking up his own pile. "Right now we have to concentrate on our future, not our questionable pasts."

"Speak for yourself. My future is my past."

* * *

Naruto, Gaara, and Sakura were all silent as they filed into Tsunade's office, letting the door shut behind them as they took up all of the chairs in front of Tsunade's large desk.

"Thank you for all arriving on time, for once," Tsunade said, her eyes lingering on Naruto, making him squirm for his normal tardiness.

"Now," she continued, "initially I asked Sakura to be here as well to help with the process, but instead she's here for the same reason you, Naruto and Gaara, are here. After reviewing mission reports and the reports written by Kakashi as he checked in on the you per the probation requirements, I've decided that the two of need a third person on your team to round out your techniques and personalities."

Naruto and Sakura blinked at this statement before looking at each other, then at Gaara who was carefully watching Tsunade for signs of subterfuge.

"So, who's the new teammate?" Naruto asked, still watching Gaara for any signs hinting towards something untold.

"Sakura of course. Between you two and your injuries a medic-nin, even one who isn't completely trained," Sakura rolled her eyes as Tsunade continued on, "will be needed. It will also save on hospital costs since training and mission related injuries are covered by the administration office."

Naruto grinned sheepishly as Sakura rolled her eyes. Everyone in the room knew how many injuries Naruto collected almost on a daily basis. They both looked over at Gaara to see him reclining in his chair, still watching Tsunade with an air of suspicion that he seemed to reserve for Tsunade alone.

"That's all. Come back in a day or two for your new mission assignment. You three are free to go. Please don't kill each other. Sakura, that goes doubly for you when Naruto acts up," Tsunade said, waving them out of the office over Naruto's indignant protests.

* * *

Shikamaru knew that going to Ino's house when she was upset was practically suicide, but he was there anyway, standing in front of her door despite the little voice telling him to go far, far away. He took a deep breathe and raised his hand to knock on the door, only to find it yanked open before his fist had even started its descent.

"What do you want, Shikamaru?"

Ino's angry voice cut through the cooling night air, making him flinch at the venom in her words. She was angry with him, he knew that, but he hadn't been expecting such malice. Suddenly the words he had planned seemed to be sticking in his throat.

Ino glared at him as he fidgeted before snapping at him again, "Why are you here? I thought throwing the kunai at you was hint enough."

"Look, Ino-"

He was cut off when she stepped out of her house and slammed the door behind her. Shikamaru took a step back as the angry blonde turned to face him, her eyes blazing as she looked up at him.

"Seriously Shikamaru, you can't just come to my house like this. I'm really sick of your attitude, of you expecting things to be easy just because you're lazy. Shit, I'm just sick of this!" Ino's voice had risen as she yelled, her hands clenching into angry fists.

"Ino-"

"I can't believe that you hide from me when I actually need help, then you won't go away when I don't want to see you. What are you thinking?"

Shikamaru growled in the back of his throat as Ino cut him off again. Finally he looked down at her, placed a hand over her moving mouth, and shut her up.

"Ino, shut up and stop being a pain. I came to give you this."

He took his hand off of her mouth and shoved a small box into her fluttering hands before she could protest. When she stared at him he sighed and turned around, hands shoved deep into his pockets as he walked into the falling night. Ino stared after him for a moment before looking at the box in her hand. Tentatively she removed the small black lid, then stared again when tiny dragon barrettes winked in the light that fell from the open windows.

* * *

The wind blew softly through the village, bringing with it the scent of rain and summer nights. The village lights sparkled in the dim light, winking like miniature stars against the falling veil of night. Loud, wild laughter rang out from one of the many ninja bars, carrying across the village's varying architecture. From the largest tower he looked over the village, taking in the twinkling lights and the conglomerate of architectural styles that made up the sprawling Sound village.

He'd watched for over three years as buildings had been created and destroyed, Mist and Grass and Rock and Cloud and others coming together for as long as they were alive until someone else moved in and did some cultural remodeling. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that things in Sound were almost never constant, changing as people came and went. Oh, there were constants, but they were easily ignored compared to the massive changes that took place almost daily. It was amazing how quickly someone could build a house with added shinobi abilities.

Sasuke sighed as the breeze ruffled his long bangs, sending them flying into his face. He would have gotten them cut a while ago, but he didn't trust anyone with sharp objects near his face, especially not anyone left from the Sound Four, Kabuto, or Orochimaru. So he was stuck dealing with his hair himself, therefore his bangs were long so that he didn't accidentally stab out an eye because Tayuya surprised him, and the back was as short and even as he could get it with the help of the said kunai and a mirror.

Being in the Sound was certainly different from living in Konoha. Thinking about the differences was a waste of time, time better spent watching his back. Just because he was important to Orochimaru didn't mean that he wasn't fair game to anyone who wanted to try to beat him in order to gain prestige.

Without a sound he turned his back to the sights and sounds of the falling night and headed inside, shoving his bangs out of his face in sheer irritation before darkness swallowed him whole.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he watched the dance of small nightlife lights flickering across his ceiling. His partner was on the balcony, doing whatever he did when he was out there. Most of the time Gaara hung out on the roof, but for some reason he was just sitting on the balcony, his sand shifting calmly around his body as he stared into the gathering darkness.

There was a small pull on his stomach and a flare of chakra, then a small fox sending appeared, settling itself on his chest and flicking its tails before baring its teeth in a canine smile. Naruto rolled his eyes, recognizing the small form that Kyuubi manifested when he felt the need to either talk to Naruto or get out and stretch his metaphysical legs. The sending form had appeared accidentally during one of the training sessions Jiraiya had put together to help Naruto access the fox demon's chakra easier. Instead they had just given Kyuubi a form to wander in for short distances, creating yet another secret the villagers would go ballistic over if it ever became public knowledge.

"Furball."

"Kitten."

Naruto scowled at the greeting, "Why have you chosen to grace me with your presence now? I thought that you were still plotting to take over my body while I sleep."

The fox snorted, twitching one of his tails in amusement as it shook its head, "I have no need to explain myself to a cub like you."

"You do when you're sitting on my chest."

The fox rolled its eyes, "If I had my real body-"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto cut the fox off with a wave of his hand. "If you had your body you would eat me and everyone else. Understood, acknowledged, whatever."

Naruto yelped when the fox dug his claws into his chest, leaving dark indents in his smooth skin before dodging away to avoid Naruto's wild swing. It settled into a corner and settled down again, resting its muzzle across crossed paws, tails and ears occasionally twitching.

"What the hell was that for?" Naruto snapped, sitting up and rubbing his chest.

"Your impertinence. Despite being confined to this _form_, I am still a being to be afraid of. That is something that you can't understand," the fox snapped back, its eyes blazing for a moment.

"We've discussed this before. It isn't my fault you're stuck in my stomach. Get over it," Naruto said, still rubbing his chest even as the marks faded before his eyes.

The fox rolled its eyes, "Stupid kit. It's a wonder you weren't kicked out before you gained any power at all."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"It means that all of you humans are so stupid that you don't even take care of potential threats before they have a chance to gain power. Hell, you humans don't even teach your young how to use their powers to their full potential. Idiots, all of you."

"So what? The villagers should have killed me before I learned anything?"

"If they were smart. In the desert they tried for the tanuki boy you're partnered with, but they didn't count on Shukaku or whatever it is that controls his infernal sand."

Naruto blinked at the small fox that was watching him with faintly glowing red eyes, "You know what's going on around me?"

"Just because I've been trapped doesn't mean that I don't pay attention, unlike you," the fox managed to smirk up at the indignant blonde. "They hate you and fear you, and rightly so, but they're too stupid to do anything about it."

"Too bad, you lose. I'm not dead," Naruto said, watching the sending as it shrugged, then stretched in the corner.

"I can wait," the sending replied, ignoring the way Naruto bristled. "With how much trouble you get into it shouldn't take long."

"Are you done insulting me, fuzz-face? Why have you decided to grace me with your presence?"

The fox sighed and started to lazily move around the room, sniffing under the bed before recoiling and moving on. Naruto watched from the bed as the fox explored, glowing faintly in the dimmed light from the chakra that powered its form. After a few minutes of silence the fox jumped on the bed, paws barely making impressions on the coverlet as it returned to Naruto and curled up at his side. They'd learned early on that they couldn't inflict more than surface wounds upon each other, anything else and the sending would become intangible and Naruto's body would just pass through the fox's form.

"We need to get out and away," the sending started, moving a few times before settling down. "It's too cramped here, surrounded by all of these humans. Ants, all of them, scurrying ants. Only the one with pink fur and the tanunki boy are worth dealing with out of all of the pathetic creatures. Pink-fur would only be useful for mating anyway, all of the others are to weak to become mate material."

"What the hell?" Naruto squaked, swatting at the sending but missing.

The sending glared at him and flicked its tails, resettling into the bedding once Naruto had calmed down again. "Stop shrilling, you sound like a mewling newborn when you do that. It's unbecoming of someone with an ounce of power. Stop acting like an idiot and screaming about every little thing."

Naruto scowled, but kept quiet at the fox continued talking, "We need to leave, to get out of these confines of human existence. They hate, they kill, they hunger, they abuse power, they enjoy the pain of others. Living in this filth makes me sick."

"Then why did you attack if you knew this?" Naruto asked, curious despite the disdain he could feel seeping out from the sending bristling on his bed.

"Food. About the one thing you humans are good for is a meal. Matter-wise you're nothing, but the ones with power make up for it."

Naruto blanched, much to the fox's amusement. The sound of the sliding door to the balcony opening brought their attention to Gaara who had started to enter the bedroom, then stopped, his gaze locked on the bed and Naruto, his sand's swirling accelerating with his agitation.

"What is that?"

Naruto watched the fox get up and jump off the bed as he answered his partner, "It's Kyuubi in sending form. He came about like this accidentally, of course."

Both were quiet for a moment as they watched the small fox pad over to Gaara. The sending sniffed at the swirling sand, then sneezed and jumped back. It inched forward again as Gaara calmed the sand, leaving it swirling at a slower pace. One paw tentatively reached out and patted the sand before it wrapped around the outstretched paw and tugged, sending the fox sending stumbling before it growled and hopped back onto the bed, fur standing on end as it bared its teeth at Gaara.

"Good job, furball," Naruto said, chuckling as the sending growled at him as well before curling into a ball and disappearing in a poof of smoke.

"I see that your demon makes itself a pain as well," Gaara said, standing at the foot of the bed as he watched his partner rub at his stomach where the seal was standing out vividly.

"He comes out to extol the virtues of being human," Naruto said, dropping his hand away from the seal when he saw Gaara eyeing it.

"Ah," Gaara said before heading for the bedroom door. "Goodnight."

"'Night Gaara."

* * *

The mist that drifted through the small clearing was disrupted, sending eddies of shimmering mist skittering across the clearing as nine figures stepped out from the darkness.

"Due to the new developments with the demon carriers we've been set back in our plans."

The words carried across the damp night air, but none of the figures shuffled nervously, they were above such petty feelings as nervousness.

"Together they are more of a problem than apart," Kisame's voice echoed from the shadows, his teeth flashing in the dull moonlight.

"The sand boy is unpredictable, yeah. He'll be harder than the other," Deidara's voice added. "Yeah, more of a challenge."

"Don't be so hasty. The Kyuubi boy can be just as bad as Shukaku's carrier," Itachi's cold voice broke through the darkness, adding to the conversation.

"Continue along the lines that have already been laid down. We'll meet again later to discuss further developments. Keep to the shadows."

As the figures faded into the darkness four stayed, two pairs looking across the clearing at each other. There were wooden sounds, like a spider crawling across the floor as the largest of the figures moved, figure blurred in the darkness.

"We'll continue watching the Shukaku boy. You two keep to Kyuubi."

Itachi's eyes swirled in the darkness, pinwheels of black cutting through blood red, "Just keep out of sight. There are to be no reports of us in the area."

As Itachi and Kisame disappeared, Deidara huffed, flicking his blonde bangs out of his face as he stared at their retreating forms.

"Arrogant."

"Drop it, Deidara. We have our objectives," Sasori cut him off before he could get going.

With a sigh she nodded and they faded into the darkness of the night, Deidara's voice hanging in the air with his last remark, "I'm going to beat his smug ass some day, yeah. Then he won't be so haughty."

**TBC…**

A/N: Betad! W00t.

Alright, here's a few notes that I wanted to put up after the first version was posted: Deidara is a boy (Thanks Saria-chan!), there are nine members in Akatsuki after Orochimaru left (I went back to Volume 27 on narutofan(dot)com and checked, there's nine shadows), and this will not be a Gaara/Naruto pairing. Sorry. All others are open though.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, I appreciate every single one of them. Sorry if anyone was disappointed.

This was more drabble and character development than plot, but it's all relevant, so be prepared for the pace to pick up in the next chapter.

Look out for Chapter 08: Mission Accepted and Escalating!

Thanks, as always, to Asteroid Blues for taking time away from video games to deal with this.


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